M E A T B A G
= OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION =
Intent: To refurbish an old character and give them new life in the Sun Guard.
Image Credit: Angron, by Mikhail Savier. Edits by Myself. [x] Custom Post Breaker, Created by [member="Kalyn Shif"] <3 [x], Custom Imagefont, Created by Myself. Angron's Vengeance - Drop Pod Assault [x] - Edits by Me.
Role: Character Companion.
Links: Torian Pierce, Stormtrooper Sergeant [x], Thyrsian Sun Guards [x], Immortality D-Package [x], Advanced Combat System [x], The Mortalis [x], The Aspis [x], The Apollo [x], Hydrostatic Impact Gel [x], Hoplon Power Armour [x], The Golden Company - Asset List [x].
= PHYSICAL INFORMATION =
Age: Thirty-Five Galactic Standard Years Old.
Gender: Male.
Height: Six Feet, Two Inches.
Weight: One-Hundred and Ninety Pounds.
Complexion: Sun-kissed Caucasian.
Eye Colour: Pale, Seafoam Green.
Hair Colour: Burnished Copper, Cybernetic Dreadlocks.
Force Sensitivity: Non-Force Sensitive.
Species: Genetically Modified Human.
Race: Bakuran.
Birthworld: Bakura.
Distinguishing Mark(s):
- Patchwork Scarring.
- Cybernetic Dreadlocks.
- Synthskin Grafts.
- Tribal Marking - Hidden and Reinforced Skull Fracture Beneath.
His tanned, scar-puckered flesh was baked into a burnished umber by the light of a thousand alien suns, that clung taut to his thickly corded, and muscular frame. The man was covered from head to toe in sutured scars, unsubtle augmetics, inked kill-markings, and pained spasms that painted this once noble figure in a tragic light. Before his disgraced departure from the First Order, the Berzerker’s face was curiously untouched by the horror’s of his chosen vocation; but that changed during the tumultuous Battle of Hoth. Through rage-blinded eyes, Torian smashed his helmet into the skull of a rampaging Tauntaun - killing the beast, but cracking open the man’s head in return. Now, long after the damage healed and was surrounded by a crest of cybernetic dreadlocks, the massive fracture was reinforced by metallic plating and hidden by a crimson tribal marking; a tattoo whose meaning was lost to the ashes of memory.
Once, before the oath was broken, Torian bore the alabaster panoply of a Stormtrooper and nothing else. He was duty-bound to live and die in that armour. However, in the peaceful times after his enslavement, the man had adorned himself in simple clothing; a cruel reminder of what he once was. These vestments ranged from coarsely-woven tunics, inked with the company markings of his Thyrsian Cohorts, to tight fitting bodyglove’s that shrouded the man’s sins wrought into his very flesh from sight. When the scarred warrior took to the field, he did so clad in the gilded plates of the Golden Company - and would often return bathed in the blood of the righteously slain bearing a pain-addled grin.
= SOCIAL INFORMATION =
Name: Torian Pierce.
Titles: Traitor to the Order, Butcher of Besberra, Sellsword Mercenary.
Rank(s): Stellar Centurion of the Sun Guard - Third in Command of Khonsu's Legion's and Master of the Cohort; "The Bladebreakers."
Loyalties: The Golden Company - Thyrsian Sun Guard, Khonsu Amon.
Marital Status: Single.
Languages: Galactic Basic, High Galactic, Binary, Bocce, Cheunh, Thyrsian Battlecant.
Wealth: Moderately Wealthy - When he was oath-bound to serve the One Sith, and then the First Order thereafter, Torian’s wealth was insignificant. He served both fractal pieces of the ancient Imperium faithfully, trusting that they would take care of his every need. When that bond was broken and he was enslaved, the former Stormtrooper fought to earn his freedom in the Gladiatorial Pits of Besberra; until he had taken his master’s skull and brought an entire city to its knees. From there, Torian had taken his plundered riches with him when he entered into a compact with the Golden Company, and found himself richer than ever before.
Notable Possessions:
- The Mortalis.
- Thyrsian Wargear.
- Immortality D-Package and the Advanced Combat System.
Skills:
- Stormtrooper Training - Combat and Flash Trained Veteran.
- Close Combat Specialist - Gladitorial Axeman.
- Thyrsian Battlesight - Imparted Wisdom.
However, despite all of the rage that sustained him and drove him forward, Torian’s successes on the battlefield were undeniable. He was a capable Commander and had proved as much during the Siege of Outpost Veers. Through his tactical acumen, the Outpost was well defended until the cessation of hostiles between the Alliance the First Order; which also included the after effects that resulted in much of the base being buried under glacial snow. It was because of Torian, that many Stormtroopers lived to see another day. Sadly, that was his second to last assignment, as he had taken a critical blow to the head - through his own devices - and nearly died as a result. It was through this quick-thinking deed that the Stormtrooper’s behaviour worsened.
Torian became the personification of depthless and uncontrollable rage. Whilst engrossed in combat, the man would scream frothing madness as he treated every foe like they were timber to be chopped. He would consistently but heads with his superiors, questioning their every order and wondering why they wouldn’t unleash him. The man, through his own volition, became a Warrior with nothing to lose and unafraid of death. In fact, it was said by some, that the man wished for it; but had yet to meet a man who would grant him that desire.
= COMBAT INFORMATION =
Weapon of Choice: The Mortalis Vibrosaw.
Combat Function: Berserker - While he was a consummate marksman, as any Imperial Stormtrooper should be, Torian’s true skills in combat came from his savage ferocity in close-quarters. He, like many warriors, turned his entire body into a weapon - unafraid of punching his opponent after delivering a mortal blow or even missing his strike entirely. The man was trained in a myriad of martial arts, and had several more hypnotically implanted; making him the personification of violence incarnate whenever he takes to the field. This was further enhanced after he had freed himself from the slave pits of Besberra and found himself taken in by the Golden Company, as the Thyrsian’s sought to strengthen his skills and impart their wisdom onto him in the hopes of creating an indispensable asset.
As he already had the foundations of the Echani Martial Arts drilled into the grey matter of his mind, Torian was further enlightened by the cultural differences of the Thychani people. They praised heavy armour and one’s mastery over their blade, rather than the flexibility and freedom of fighting naked, and with naught but one’s fists.
While the former Stormtrooper may lay claim to being a skilled fighter on the frontlines, the man’s former capabilities as a marksman failed him after the time he spent enslaved on Besberra. Once, when he was clad in the ivory-warplate of the First Order’s elite branch, the man was capable of shooting the wings off a bloatfly. However, now that his mind was broken and impaled with the various cybernetic dreadlocks of the advanced combat system - the man was unable to regain such heightened levels of focus, leaving him unable to hit the broadside of a barn. Such a fact left the gilded Quartermasters with no choice but to outfit the man with a variety of close-ranged weaponry; short-ranged weapons that didn’t require a measure of focus in order for them to be used effectively.
As the Scions of Thyrsus are more culturally inclined to focus on the various arts of swordsmanship or that of the spear, Torian found himself standing alone amongst their gilded host for being the only one to utilize an axe. The man treated his enemies as if they were timber, meant to be chopped and hacked apart in a bloodied frenzy, whilst his comrades went for the more ‘cleaner’ and partially elegant approach. Thus, the former Stormtrooper found himself always trying the edge with any bladed weapon that came into his possession, leaving him to be soundly beaten by anyone who backed up their claim as a Bladesman. Truth be told, the same could be said of anyone, with any weapon, that held a mastery over their chosen armament. He was raw talent and passion, rolled up into a single package - and should any sentient take notice of the man; enslaved to his own emotions, would be capable of tearing apart the seemingly unstoppable Juggernaut in a graceful display of violence.
Unlike his Thyrsian brethren, Torian was a hulking mass of lean muscle - leaving him with a noticeably slower reaction time than that of his gilded kindred. He relied heavily on his armour and it’s various systems to diminish the lethality of an incoming blow, before throwing his weight into a thunderous retort. This was also a sign of his gladiatorial prowess following him into his new life, and the combat implants driven into his skull, as his former slavers demanded that the blood must flow; be it his own or that of the enemy.
With the impetuous deed that clove his skull in twain, and the subsequent forest of cables being speared into the meat of his mind, the man’s tactical acumen was all but lost. There were rare moments when such foreknowledge shined through the blood-haze, but many within the Sun Guard secretly consider him to be a disconcerting liability - especially when bequeathed command over their chattel and auxiliary forces. The man believes that any battle can be won through a myriad of successive fights; which then leads toward insane and utterly wasteful charges towards the enemy’s entrenched defences in the hopes of meeting their foes - eye to eye.
= HISTORICAL INFORMATION=
There was little of import that transpired in the years before Torian had become a Stormtrooper, as the youth was nothing more than a suckling babe clutching at his mother’s breast. From what could be gathered from the ruins of the One Sith and their Empire, there were various reports that pointed towards the Soldier’s augmentation; as they tried to create the perfect soldier by blending several arcane methodologies into a single form. In order for this special project, whose name was lost to the skeins of time, to work - they needed to harvest thousands of genetically compatible subjects. The baby, who would one day become the Butcher of Besberra, was but one of these unwilling participants. He was taken from the world of distant world of Bakura, and brought into the depths of Coruscant - the Capital World of the One Sith at the time - and subjected him to one experiment after the other.
Years after he had been taken, and managed to survive their genetic meddling, Torian was pushed into active military service as an Imperial Stormtrooper. The man had endured everything that the One Sith had thrown at him - both in their secret laboratories and on the battlefield, once he had graduated from their Military Academy on Cardia. It was at that Cliffside facility that High Command, and their Sith Overlords, begun to take notice of his overtly violent tendencies. While it wasn’t comparable to the levels of aggression that would reveal themselves later on in his life, they were enough for them to consider him suitable for frontline, shock trooper duties. After several altercations and barely avoiding a dishonourable discharge, the newly minted Stormtrooper was sent into combat against their enemies; with the hopes and dreams of the One Sith’s genetics program resting on his shoulders.
It was the first Battle of Osarian, and against the forces of the Galactic Republic, that the Stormtrooper established himself as a consummate fighter, as he easily overpowered several hostile Champion’s - single-handedly. They were unable to match the whirlwind of fury that he became, nor the prowess he’d shown with a blade. While fury wasn’t ideal for long campaigns, it was ideal for winning fights. If one won enough fights, there was the possibility of them winning the war. This was Torian’s mindset, whenever he had been thrust into the heart of battle, as it kept his skills honed and his mind sharp. There was little time to think for himself, in those days, as the man did as he was ordered and killed whoever stood in his way. Men, women, children? It didn’t matter to him, or to his Commanders, as their unquestioned victory was all that mattered. When the embers of war begun to settle, and the blood-drenched avatar of violence stood above a mountain of corpses - the Sith had believed themselves successful in breeding a new super soldier.
However, as the fates would have it; the fledgling forces of the Galactic Alliance had torn through the One Sith Empire’s southern reaches, and torn down the laboratory before they were able to bring their dreams to wide-spread fruition. These acts, made by the former armed forces of the Omega protectorate and Republic Deserters, heralded the end of an Empire - as the second Sith Empire had collapsed in upon itself. It was during this time that Torian and several detachments of Imperial Stormtroopers, had found their way out towards the Unknown Regions; where they encountered the second incarnation of the First Order - seeking to spread their influence over the Galaxy-at-large. Having undergone an extensive vetting process, and the genetic secrets that were found within his flesh, the Bakuran returned to active service as a Stormtrooper of the First Order.
His mind was wiped of Sith-Imperial indoctrination, and replaced by the various tenets of the First Order - most notably - an ever-present desire to admirably serve at the behest of his superiors, and by extension the Supreme Leader himself.
After his tenure within the morale division was complete, his first mission as a Stormtrooper was to secure the fringe world of Kaeshana from various threats; whilst a research team proceeded towards the planet, in the hopes of discovering a way in which to restore the world to before it was nearly destroyed in a catastrophic cataclysm. This saw the newly minted Sergeant and his Squad deployed to a Pirate Station that was located near the edge of the system, which resulted in him being far away from the battle - when the forces under the Galactic Alliance banner struck out against the forces of the First Order. He personally oversaw the station’s demise, and subsequently guaranteed the survival of thousands of Eldorai slaves; however, they vanished whilst in transit towards a friendly port located outside of the Kaeshana system. It wasn’t until much later, that those lost souls would reappear; but when they did, they were twisted amalgamations of what they once were.
In the aftermath of Kaeshana, as the Opening Gambit of the War was well underway, Torian was assigned to the Eighth Company of the First Legion; aptly named in honour of the Grand Moff - Natasi Fortan. They were to be her iron-clad fist, as she led the charge against the forces of the Galactic Alliance - a move that punched deep into their territory and secured a vast swathe of territory surrounding the Mustafar system. Like many of the Stormtroopers, outfitted with the second generation of stormtrooper armour, the Bakuran-born Soldier found himself on the frontlines of this grand endeavour. He was one of the first Imperial soldiers to step foot on the surface of Mustafar, and ended up leading his men in securing the Mining Facility; a critical asset to aid the First Order in their conquests to come. Through his deeds, and his uncanny ability to find as well as engage enemy Champion’s - Torian was uplifted to the rank of Sergeant First-Class and was bequeathed the Mortalis for personally slaying an Alliance general in the days following the armed forces of the Order having secured their new holdings from the impending reprisal.
Which had led to the man garnering the ever-watchful gaze of the Supreme Commander, A’sharad Graush, who sought to utilize his newest pawn in a reclamation gambit over the world of Skor II. Operation: Blitz was the codename for the incursion deep into Alliance-held space; which was ultimately one of the First Order’s greatest successes, as well as one of it’s deepest shames. Squad Pierce was assigned to the Commander Graush’s personal guard; who comprised of several Knights of Ren and Security Bureau agents and tasked with boarding the FIV Kingfisher to secure the assets hidden within its rusting husk. Utilizing the twinned tracks of sharpened fangs, the Stormtrooper Sergeant had chewed through the hull plating of the Corvette with the cutting edge of the Mortalis - allowing the strike-team to board the vessel and complete their mission. However, while the ad-hoc team had raided the Kingfisher for its secrets, the First Order suffered a sobering moment of profound loss, as a warship broke through the orbital cordon and proceeded to bombard the planet below; at the behest of a Knight of Ren.
In that moment of disgrace, the first cracks in the Order’s indoctrination program begun to show. The Stormtrooper didn’t care that non-combatants and innocent lives were taken in the ensuring plasmatic hellstorm, but he reviled the use of orbital munitions when they had the ability to land on the surface of the planet - and slaughter the populace in person. It shamed him that he wasn’t able to test himself against the false inheritors that dotted the surface, despite the First Order holding onto a different viewpoint; which had led to a decimation of an entire company of combat-capable soldiers and the crew of the errant warship. Torian was there when the first shot was fired - as it was his pistol that the Minister had taken to execute the first officer; who was clapped in irons. When the blaster was returned to his person, the Stormtrooper joined his brothers in publicly slaughtering a portion of his former comrades; ensuring that they would forever remember their failures.
Following the public display of callousness, Torian and the rest of the oversized Eighth Company was transferred to the frigid system of Hoth; in preparation to repel the Galactic Alliance from their Fortress Sector. When they deployed to the surface and took up their positions in the trenches at Outpost Veers - formerly known as Echo Base - the Soldier began questioning his Commander’s decisions. This had led to a conflict of interests between the Squad Leader and his Captain; which ended with the latter following through with one of the many suggestions brought forth by the former. As the first Alliance dropships descended from the heavens, Torian’s gambit finished establishing a perimeter around the entrance to the ancient and refurbished Rebel Base. With the trenches filled, and the crouching AT-AT’s serving as fortified pillboxes - the First Order was fully entrenched by at the moment the two opposing forces collided.
As the battle progressed; Torian had found himself standing alone, as his Squad fell prey to the machinations of the enemy. With his murderous weapon in hand, and as the others within the assigned company’s fell back into the base - the Stormtrooper stood as the sole bulwark against the coming tides of enemy forces. He planted his feet, and when the enemy arrived - did the unthinkable. The Bakruan surged forward to meet them, and with a single act; broke the enemy vanguard. The Stormtrooper had charged forward and kissed a Tauntaun; Keldable style, and reeled from the fatal damage that he not only caused to himself; but to the arctic beast of burden itself. Although the tundra packbeast was felled; its head caved in like rotting fruit, Torian himself fell as his own gene-wrought body betrayed him. His skull was cloven in two by the blow, and by every right - the man should’ve perished then and there.
However, as the Alliance forces were driven off the world; and from the Anoat Sector thereafter - the First Order found him, clutching onto his massive axe and what remained of his life with blood-rimmed and hate-filled eyes. The Stormtrooper would not die this day.
It wasn’t long after that the Bakuran was extracted from the snows of Hoth that he was subjected to a multitude of medicinal horrors in order to repair his broken form. While his body was genetically enhanced to endure the most grievous of wounds, it was challenged and pushed to the limit when his bloodied smile was placed on that metallic slab. As the days began to shift into weeks, there was little hope that Torian’s body would ever recover from his impetuous deeds in battle. However, all of that changed after the tallies had come in and word began to spread through the facility - of the surviving forces that were pulled out of the wreckage of Outpost Veers. The reports were less than ideal and resulted in a majority of the oversized Eighth Company being crushed under the weight of the subterranean detonations; dooming their bodies to never be recovered before they expired. Even though he was at death’s door and about to join his kindred, something changed within the Stormtrooper.
Rousing himself from his vegetative state, something that was believed to be impossible, Torian began screaming out in depthless rage. His brothers and sisters were dead, and yet he remained with his duty unfinished. He was ashamed that he alone survived when countless others were crushed beneath the crumbling glacier - a factor that no doubt played a part in altering the chemical balances in his brain, which noticeably altered his personality to become detrimental and disgraceful for a Stormtrooper. With his support structure no longer in place, as his Company Captain buried any and all of his infractions to keep him around, the Soldier was stripped of his rank and thrown into the Auxiliary - much like the Gundark’s after their disgrace at Skor II before him. There it was believed he would still be of some use to the Order, and wouldn’t besmirch the supposed honour held within the humancentric portion of their burgeoning Empire’s elite militant branch.
However, his service within the Auxiliary wouldn’t last - as the past sought to rear its ugly head once again. In a battle against the waning power of the Galactic Alliance, now stricken from the records, had seen the Unit under Torian’s command was wiped out to a man. The ground they were ordered to hold was stolen from beneath them in a wash of enemy armour and mechanized divisions. They had no chance to stem the rushing tides and were forced to abandon their positions in order to save their wretched lives to fight another day. The enemy took the formerly entrenched positions but found themselves beset by a bloodbathed berserker who hounded their ever-shifting lines for days on end. Although the Alliance had taken the Order’s position and the world thereafter, Torian made them pay for every inch they had taken; going so far as to force the Defence Force to pull out of the System as their losses grew beyond any reasonable shadow of a doubt.
When the First Order had returned to this unnamed system, seeking to reclaim their lost territory, they found it awaiting them with open arms. Little time was wasted by the burgeoning Stellar Empire as they began setting down their roots, but found themselves with an issue that they desired to handle internally. As it turned out, the Stormtrooper Sergeant had made several enemies within the First Order Security Bureau during his active military service, and they had sought to eliminate their problem in one fell swoop. Thus, when they located their sole survivor amid the charnel house strewn across the battlefield, they endeavoured to ensure that he was never found again. A team of agents stole away into the night and found themselves joining the masses that fell before the churning teeth of Torian’s mighty axe.
Although his mind was damaged, it was competent enough to know that his tenure within the First Order was finished. The former Stormtrooper was betrayed by those that he was indoctrinated to trust, and survived their attempt to remove him from the picture; Torian would need to start his life anew.
It was unthinkable at first, as his damaged mind fought against his decision at every step. He was a loyal soldier, through and through. Yet, this was how they treated him? He was nothing more than an expendable tool; meant to be tossed aside when he was no longer of use to those in power. While that notion was always something he was cognizant of during his service, the man expected that he would perish in the line of duty - building something better with his own blood, sweat, and tears. However, they sought to deprive him of that. His own dreams and aspirations were shattered, leaving him nothing more than an empty shell. After days of internal and silent deliberation, the former Stormtrooper was able to defeat his damaged and indoctrinated mind - at great cost to his personal health - which allowed him to commit to a decision that would forever change his life.
When the shroud of night covered the occupying First-Imperial forces, and they began settling in for the long-haul, Torian burst forth from his mountainside retreat and cut his way through his former kindred to steal a shuttle. It wasn’t long after, caked in the blood of those he once called brothers and sisters, that the former Stormtrooper had taken to the stars in a commandeered vessel. But, despite his monumental efforts, his voyage was cut short by a myriad of pursuit craft that chased his shuttle through the depths of hyperspace; which ended in fire and fury as he was sent careening towards the surface of a world that he would later call his prison for years to come. Besberra. The First Order believed he was dead, as they found a torched corpse within the crash site and there was nothing that remained that could be recovered to confirm his death by any conventional means.
As the man was nothing but a Stormtrooper, and a Disgraced Sergeant thereafter, they couldn’t be bothered to follow through with a more detailed analysis. The Supreme leader wanted a body, and that was exactly what he got.
No longer oath-bound to the militant branch of a burgeoning Empire, Torian found himself lacking a purpose. He was born and bred to be a soldier; willing to throw his life away for ideals that were never truly his own, in the hopes of building a better tomorrow for those that followed in his footsteps. With such ideals fading into memory, the Old Soldier wandered the countryside of Besberra, living off the land for months - enough time for the populace to begin spreading rumours of a gore-bathed wraith that stalked the plains at night. This became an issue for the local authorities, as time and time again, they were called out to raided farms and pillaged domiciles. They couldn’t explain the horrors that were visited on the hapless livestock, and after weeks of sightings and butchered animals kept being reported - they decided to act by hunting down this mysterious figure and bringing him to light. After nearly a dozen expeditions into the unknown had yielded little results, it was on the twelfth journey that they managed to locate the ravaged form of Torian and subsequently subdued through the liberal use of archaic stun rounds.
Brought low by a surge of violent energy coursing through his veins, the former Stormtrooper awoke days later with his unkempt features bereft of hair and his scalp adorned with a proverbial forest of thick cabling. When he managed to procure a mirror, Torian bore witness to his new, and grisly visage; the man was horrified at what he saw. Gone were the noble patrician features that dominated his youth, as they were replaced by sinful markings that held little meaning to the warrior that bore them. He was no longer the same man, and the drastic change between what he was and what he’d become, caused a rift in his own mind - one that forced him to give into his unbridled aggression at the slightest provocation. The Bakuran became nothing more than a primal beast; one that was sold into slavery and forced to fight for his life in every waking moment, then consigned to enforced slumber between bouts. While it was a lesson he learned during his tenure as an Imperial Shocktrooper, Torian learned more about a life without peace from his tyrannical overseers.
His body was perpetually pushed to the limits of his physical endurance time and again, living in a heightened state of constant fury and instinctual fear. It was believed that every shred of the unkempt soldier they found within the depths of some nameless forest was forever erased, and supplanted by this furious creature; wrought of flesh and steel. However, what they didn’t realize, was that Torian managed to retain shreds of his humanity and sought to play their games - allowing them to believe that he had become nothing more than a savage creature incapable of the most basic societal function. When they learned of his duplicity, it was unfortunately too late, as the former Imperial stormtrooper freed himself from bondage and took to the streets of their fair city - painting its myriad walls in a vibrant crimson. Although he fought the populace alone, the man was joined by various gangs and rivals as they tore through the innocent and the guilty alike. None were spared his wroth - Men, women, and even children fell to the winding howl of his mighty axe.
It wasn’t long after the world of Besberra was purified in the blood of those that called it home, that the Sun Guard were hired by the meagre survivors to reclaim their world from the berserker that put the system to their blade. As the gilded Scions of Thyrsus took to the field; spilling out of their dropships with weapons raised, they found themselves beset by a ravenous horde of degenerates - clamouring for their blood. In response, Khonsu Amon - the commanding officer of the planetary expedition - gave the order to open fire; cutting down all that surged forth from their sundered domiciles. When dozens fell as the Sun Guard advanced towards the central spire of the ruined Capital, they found a singular being resting atop a proverbial throne of bleached bone and viscera. The mighty axe, that had eaten the myriad cities of Besberra, rested within arm’s reach and lashed about the man’s wrist by a thick metallic chain. With no blood-crazed dregs recklessly charging the embellished warriors, they trained their weapons on the resting figure and demanded that he come forth to answer for his supposed crimes.
Torian answered with words, instead of the acts of barbarity the Sun Guards had expected. He had conquered entire planetary systems in the name of a misbegotten ruler of a failing Empire, and once more when he swore his oath of loyalty to the First Order. Both had regrettably betrayed the former Stormtrooper in his own right, leaving him to become nothing more than a beast that lacked a purpose in life. He even went so far as to state his conquest of Besberra was childsplay, as he sought out an honourable death to rid his wretched life of the shame he had accrued in becoming a slave. It was then that Khonsu stepped forth and offered the Techno-barbarian a choice; One that required him to stand before the firing line and be executed like a soldier. Or, that the dreadlocked warrior pick up his weapon and duel the - then - Stellar Tribune to the death, in which whoever died, would find themselves sent into the afterlife as a warrior.
To this offer, the Bakuran readily accepted and hefted his mighty weapon in reply. The stories that resulted from the aftermath of this duel between the respective avatar’s of war quickly became a legend within the Sun Guard. Those that bore witness to the twinned whirlwinds of fury and chance found themselves unable to accurately describe the awe that surged through their veins as they watched the two Sons of distant worlds do battle against one another. The polished curvature of the shield and pointed tip of the spear wove around the woodsman’s axe in a deadly pirouette - that eventually ended when the Force Pike tore into Torian’s boiled leather breastplate; nearly missing his heart. He was beaten, for the first time since the biting winds of Hoth, and accepted that his Death had finally come. He was glad that it was a consummate warrior that would end his life, as the Bakuran could finally face his fallen comrades and ancestors thereafter with some measure of pride.
However, Khonsu had denied Torian of his honourable death and instead offered the man something he secretly sought after for many years. A purpose. While it was waylaid by the promise of vast hoards of wealth and whatever his ailing heart desired, there was something more that hung behind the veil of greed - something that the former Stormtrooper could never refuse. With blood-flecked lips and laughter that reminded those present of an avalanche - rendered in the human tongue by a parched throat - the man was brought into the Sun Guard as an Initiate. The wound that Gilded Tribune had inflicted would be his personal ritual marking, and the sign of brotherhood in the days to come.
Reforged in black and gold, Torian found his renewed purpose in life; a place where his savagery was accepted without penitence, and given the hope - that one day - the gilded Scions of Thyrsus would be able to make him whole once more.
