Seth Astari

Alros Harash, better know to the galaxy as Seth Astari, is an Anzati former Jedi, who eventually turned out from the Jedi Order and Republic, having experienced traumatic events during the first battle of Geonosis. After recovering from wounds, he was deemed dead, as a casualty to the massive battle that took place on Geonosis and exploiting that fact he has moved to a remote system in the Outer Rim, where he started a small trading business. He managed not only to survive the war, but the Jedi Purge - he changed his identity entirely. Shortly after the rise of the Galactic Empire, he joined the Imperial Academy, to eventually become a commander to Imperial Navy. He rose up to the rank of a Fleet Admiral. After the Empire's defeat on Endor and it's eventual downfall, Astari managed to consolidate his forces and become a Warlord. He rose to power in the Outer Rim and ruled the state for some time. Eventually, he foolishly started a war with the Hutts Cartel, which he lost quickly. These events forced his faction to exile, establishing a new outpost on a remote, Wild Space planet of Aldebaran.

Early life
He was born on the mysterious and shady planet of Anzat to a couple of craftsmen - Raku and Saraya Harash. Since they lived in extreme poverty, a child was only another burden for them to carry. They didn't decide to kill or get rid of him, but the youngling had a harsh time living in his hometown. He was forced to work with his parents, often being exploited to his borders and given little to no care. It wasn't anything special or unprecedented on Anzat - that species was one which hardly made any connections. The early years of his life probably forged him for the entirety of his existence. Alros developed a fair amount of detachment and apathy, withstanding not only the draining work, but also his cruel father's brutal punishments with piety. He hid and controlled his emotions very well.

Life's breakthrough came, when he was discovered by a well-known and publically respected Anzati - Akku Seii. The master assassin had marked young Harash to be his next student. And so it happened - the experienced master passed his teachings down on Alros, not only showing him the martial arts and ways of ending someone's life, but taught him the Anzati philosophy, which was to have a great impact on his life in the future. The training wasn't complete - at the age of 10, a pair of Jedi have detected Seth's immense force sensitivity, when he and his master were together at the Maggot's Cantina. They hesitated, but finally managed to approach the two Anzati, offering a great future for Alros, promising a big career and becoming a powerful Jedi. The choice was obvious.

The Jedi Order
Ever since the he was presented to the Jedi Council, everyone was careful. The records of Volffe Karkko proved that Anzati are rather keen towards the Dark Side, thus making them dangerous, if given Jedi training. The debates lasted for days, but eventually the wise Masters have came to a conclusion, that it is better to have such a being under controll in the Order, than travelling through the Galaxy as an assassin. And so his training has began.

At first, he wasn't the most gifted of students. In fact, Harash was older than other padawans and at first couldn't understand the idea of the Jedi Order. His mind was somehow contaminated with Anzat philosophy, which also developed some kind of understanding of the Force. But as time passed, he quickly catched up with the others - his midichlorian count was formidable, his skills in the Force grew extremely fast. Due to his early life, he was taught diligence and obedience. This, mixed with his extreme detachment and drabness gave him many advantages over other Jedi. He attended training sessions with the others, he took additional trainings with other Jedi Masters and when others rested and relaxed, he studied the Jedi Archives. It was because he hardly made any friendships - although no one knew his roots or race, he was perceived as an odd individual and never really cared for fitting into anyone's cards.

When the time has come, he was elected as a padawan to Master Tan Osok - an Ithorian. That choice was odd yet understandable - Master Tan Osok was one of the most pacifist, collected and philosophical of all Jedi in the Order. It was a way to ensure Alros staying on the Light Side and getting a good spiritual guidance in his life. Surprisingly enough, both Jedi clicked with eachother quickly - they both had a keening on contemplating reality and devising elaborate diquisitions. "'The Force is colourless. Nor Dark, neither Bright. It has got no nature. But those that channel it, do. And that's how the Force gains it's hues - through the hands of it's usufructuaries'""~Tan Osok, teaching Alros"

During his time as a Padawan, he was learning quickly. Master Tan Osok, despite being a respected Jedi, didn't always compel to the Jedi Codex. He believed that the Force shouldn't be divided into factions or groups - like the Jedi or the Sith or anyone else. He believed the Force is coherent in it's very core and has no colours - only those who channel it and call upon it vest their own colour onto it. That philosophy was quickly absorbed by the young Jedi and developed with his Master.

They were studying ancient knowledge together, meditating on the Force, attending peaceful missions of healing worlds destroyed by conflicts and civil wars. It was a long time, but eventually Alros was promoted to a Jedi Knight - just a few days before the start of the Clone Wars.

Clone Wars
He was a part of the reinforcements sent along with the GAR on Geonosis, when the battle commenced. He was given command over a batallion of clones, which from the very beginning he viewed as interesting. He lead his troops right into the battle but having no previous commanding experience, made it a grave mistake. He was tasked with conquering hill PK-22, which was a heavily armoured Separatist artillery station. He felt, that with the guidance of the power and his own strength, he will succeed. Harash rallied his troops and stormed the positions frontally. His battle was short - very quickly did his offensive collapse, as enemy's artillery focused all firepower on him. He was helpless to watch his batallion be bombarded to death, with single troopers struggling to find any cover. Soon enough, a shrapnel fell next to him, exploding and thus burying the Anzati underground."'War? War isn't glorious. Death isn't glorious. Suffering isn't glorious. Honour means nothing to the dead. The fallen do not cherish victory. War is a disaster.'""~Alros, asked about his experience of Clone Wars"When he managed to haul himself from the debris, the battle was already over and armies gone. He realized that nobody ever tried to find him, nobody remembered about him. Alros assumed, that the Jedi thought him to be dead and they put no efforts in trying to find his fallen body, to give it a burial at least. He was betrayed - both by the Jedi, which have been his family and the Republic, which he vowed to protect. He wandered the wastelands of Geonosis for days. When he finally found a transport, he decided to disappear from the Galaxy and live his own life.

Exile
Alros changed his name for Seth Astari. He wanted to get rid of any connections to his past, which he despised and regreted. He made his way to the remote Colundra Sector, where he decided to live his life as a trader. He utilized his Jedi trainings and powers to help him out in the business, which allowed him to grow in wealth slowly. The small planet he's been living on gave him a lot of opportunities. He was importing goods from the far galaxy, while at the same time running a business of kidnapping and selling creatures from Cholganna - most notably, nexu. While in exile, he was deprived of the Jedi supervision and guidance. He was a Jedi no more - there wasn't a Jedi Codex to follow, nor any rules to obey. At the beginning, he was feeling spiritually odd without the Jedi to tell him what and how to do. But then, he started to enjoy it. The first moment of his transformation was when he tasted soup for the first time. It was accidental - walking the city streets, he was attacked by a few thugs. The dark alley was obscure and they were extremely aggresive. They tried to harm him, both with fists and when they realized he is a skilled warrior, pulled out blasters to kill him. Of course he found it easy to defeat them, but when he was holding their leader, facing him very closely, he felt a call. Something that he couldn't hear or see, something that he couldn't explain, but his inner side was telling him to react. He lost control and composure, he took over his victims mind and consumed his life essence. The three other attackers, when saw the scene, were terrified. They managed to escape and they told the story of a vampire hunting for prey in the night. And it turned into reality/

The Dark Side very quickly and easily took over him. From then on, each night was a hunting night. He used the Force and his natural skills to find prey, lure it, attack and consume. Each time he drained someone, he felt powerful, he felt relief. He was addicted to it, he couldn't stop. He brang terror on the city, as due to his activities the night was too dangerous for anyone to leave their homes. The authorities established a curfew and attempted to catch the serial killer. In that moment, he made a decision to leave Troiken and it was that moment when he found the Republic gone, replaced by the Galactic Empire. Which he decided to join.

Imperial Navy service
He joined the Prefsbelt Imperial Navy Academy. No one ever opposed it, as he introduced himself as a human. He saw the rise of the Empire as an opportunity for himself to gain power and achieve something in his abnormally long life.

Initial years were hard. The Academy was a difficult place, intended to forge future perfect officers, who would be cunning, intelligent, knowledgeable, but also disciplined and obedient. He spent two years in Prefsbelt, focusing on learning all the theory - tactics, strategies, logistics, asset management. He moved then to Anaxes for half a year, where he was learning the practice - many wargames and battle simulations helped him in understanding the battlefield and remaining calm in stresfull situations. He also spent one semester at the Academy of Carida, where he attended backbreaking stormtroopers drills and trainings, learning their tactics, ranks and philosophies.

Upon finishing the Academy, he was assigned the role of ensign on Abominous - an Imperial Star Destroyer, which was the flagship of 37th Imperial Fleet, which was a part of the Abrion Sector Forces. Very quickly he proved himself - he was a communications officer and he was extremely officient. His interception station was well-known in the sector for being able to catch almost every illegal transmission and track it back to it's source. One of the most formidable actions, was when a group of saboteurs planned to bomb mining facilities of Varristad. His division was tasked with a brain-busting task of locating them. Eventually, he managed to intercept a communication between two cells of saboteurs. Thanks to that, the fleet managed to attack their holdout very quickly and cross their plans of sabotaging imperial mining facilities. Due to this, he was promoted and after a longer way became the very right-hand of Fleet Admiral Paro Turlok.

Shortly after the Empire's defeat on Yavin-4, everything was subject to change. Empire's hold on remote worlds was slowly loosening and keeping order was growing more and more. Abrion Sector was far enough from the Core to experience the rise of Rebellion. Many planets have started to plot against the Empire and Paro Turlok seemed not to have any control over it. It's culmination was his attempt to catch a group of Bothan spies, who established themselves to collect sensitive intel on the agricultural worlds, which were essential to Empire's military. In fact, he was so self-assured and proud, that he got killed by them. When their base was found on an irrelevant rocky planet, he jumped there only with a single Star Destroyer. Then, he wanted to have them executed personally - proud and power has blinded him and he descended to the planet. Along with his troops, he got killed. "'Obedience is not a virtue. It's an obligation.'""~Seth's watchword during Imperial Admirality" When Astari found out what has happened, he was furious. But his rage wasn't directed on the Rebels - they have proved to be skilled enough to take out a Fleet Admiral. It was the foolish Turlok which won Astari's contempt. Wasting no time or resources, he order the base be bombarded, which eventually led to the destruction of the Rebel cell. In acknowledgement of his services, he was granted the title of Fleet Admiral, replacing Turlok. From then on, the Abrion Sector was intimidated, as Astari had no mercy for anyone, who aligned himself with the rebels. He was patrolling the sector almost incessantly and often ordered raids and shakedowns of entire cities. Even if rebels were to appear under his nose, they'd be found and dealt with.

He ensured the security of his Sector, but when the Empire fell, once again the Galaxy was subject to immense changes. With the Emperor gone, all relevant and prominent officers reached out to absolute power, but instead of assuming it, they tore the Empire apart. Many worlds, on the wave of enthusiasm, joined the Rebel Alliance and there was no way of stopping the collapse of Empire, which has lasted for such a long time. No one expected it to fall but so it happened. Astari, at first, attempted to hold control over the Sector, overthrowing the incompetent Moff and consolidating fleets. But it proved to be impossible - rebels were increasingly aggressive, attacking convoys and transports and performing attack-and-jump tactics, that caused his forced to dwindle. At last, he decided to leave it for some other place, not so important to the New Republic, but one, that would ensure his prevalence.

Warlord
He quickly established himself in the Outer Rim, taking over a small territory north from Kessel. He has made contacts with the numerous Outer Rim Warlords, which assumed power over the territory, but couldn't achieve anything greater. He managed to unify them and with most powerful of them - Telebrim Nazeak - being on his side, he founder the Outer Rim Protectorate. Very quickly the power he acquired started to space him out. He was quite successful in unifying the lands, recruiting worlds to his cause, he was even quite successful in diplomacy, establishing relations with other Warlords. But the more he grew, the bigger his ambition was. HE had great plans, but the power and rule has corrupted him and clouded his vision. The dark side, which he managed to dispell years before, once more crawled up to his mind. And it was to be his demise."'I have been mistaken. Lethally'""~Seth realising the outcome of his actions on Nal Hutta"When he managed to grow his fleet to a formidable size, he devised a plan of acquiring more power. The New Republic, planning an offensive on Kuat, has approached him with a non-aggression pact, which he happily accepted. Then, he turned his eyes to the Hutts. He perceived them as wealthy and infuelntial and hoped to conquer their vast and rich territories, to make himself the greatest of Warlords. To do it, he approach the Mogul and insulted him. Powerful Hutt couldn't stand such a smear and ordered all Hutt forces to attack the Outer Rim Protectorate, thus beginning the extremely short Hutt-Imperial War. In fact, it consisted of a single battle, as Seth managed to once again dispell the shroud of dark side and realized he has started a war he cannot win. After the loss of Kessel, he ordered his forces to a full retreat. They salvaged all they could from the worlds they ruled over, took all precious items and resources, packed all relevant assets and embezzled all money and left, giving their former territory to the Hutts.

New beginning
He ordered his forces into the Wild Space, where he found a remote planet - Aldebaran. He ordered it to be the new base of operations for him and his forces. Now, when the pure Dark Side was overcome, he could act as he should from the very beginning. Remembering his years as a Jedi, Astari gave himself up to studying the Force. He managed to retrieve a vast collection of knowledge, infiltrating the most impressive data sources in the galaxy as Celebratus Archives, Drall Library and much more. He gained the Nightsisters secret, visiting Dathomir and obtaining a spellbook from them. Eventually, he helped an aspiring Nightsister find her way to the planet and reestablish the coven, gaining a loyal group of Dathomiri witches. He also rediscovered the planet of Ossus, acquiring ancient books and knowledge from there and sealing the planet so that no one would ever lay a foot on it.

Astari never showed himself to the Aldebarans, prefering to rule through Vera Mataram - his close friend, advisor, aide-de-camp and follower. All the time he decided to give into studies of the Force, finding peace and redeeming in it.

Moff Smith's offensive
"'Smith is a fool. Spoiled child desperate to prove himself to a long-dead father. And revenge is always a tragic advisor. Yet, we may benefit from his adolescent dreams.'""~Seth's opinion on Moff Smith II"Still finding the Empire to be superior to the Republic, Astari decided to align himself with the Empire of the Hand. Moff Smith, a self-proclaimed leader of the united Warlords has planned an offensive towards the Core Worlds - with a course of avenging his father and proving himself as a successful leader. Seth decided to join this offensive, seeing the main chance rather than military. He spent a lot of time planning a campaign in the Southern Outer Rim, which drifted towards crippling Republic's economy and causing chaos, as well as separating forces in the Outer Rim from reinforcements. The first step of that campaign was a remarkable success in the Battle of Yag'Dhul.

[...]

Traits and personality
Seth's personality has changed over years. He experienced extremal obedience, the Jedish peace and calmness, traders greed and relentlessness, predator's bloodthirst and ruthlessness, then Imperial Officer's cold demeanour and finally corruption of power and the dark side. He has been evolving to be right here, where he is.

Astari is customarily patient, steady and deliberate. He refuses to give in to emotions and make himself lose composure, as it has proved in the past to be a grave mistake. His mind is very quick - it analyses all facts, all features and everything around him thoroughly and carefully. His sharpened senses are able to pick up every detail - adversary's muscles flexing to attack, an indistinguishable shake of lip when somebody lies. He processes information and before making decision tries to scrutinize his position, his assets and possible outcomes. It may lead for him to be slow in decision making and sometime prolong his reaction time. Also, he grows insecure and irritated when deprived of information and having to act "blindly".

Though may seem opposite, Seth despises violence. Especially and most notably, he despises pointless violence. Last time was a time of multiple Dark Jedi and Sith-wannabies rises and it has taught him a lot. He believes that they misunderstand the Dark Side, as it's not blind cruelty. When he needs to, he can be ruthless and emotionless, but when it's not necessary, he prefers to spare lives. Death and murder may be a tool, but when someone gives in to thrill of the kill, it's the first step to insanity.

Astari appreciates knowledge. It finds it to be the most powerful asset in the world - as everything is inferior and everything comes from knowledge. He keeps all sources, both subject and people, of knowledge in high regard. He thinks that eventually, everyone and everything can teach him something. That's the purpose of hisk high respect towards everyone, both friend and enemy. Even if he feels contempt, he tries not to show it. Underestimation has been the demise of many powerful people and he's fully aware of that.

But he can easily lose his composure. The hunger for soup, which is his ever-tormentor, may turn him into a bloodthirsty monster. Usually he holds control over it, but in intense situation the inner demon break free. Then, Astari turns into a predator. His moves are quick and unpredictable, his thirst for soup makes him mad. He doesn't care about anything - just to sate his hunger. And in that state he is extremely dangerous.

Powers and abilities
Astari is a force sensitive, a formidable one. He hides it from the public and literally no one but Vera knows about it, but he studies the Force and desires to understand it fully.

Through all his life, he has developed ways of influencing other minds. He had a natural skill of telepathy, but his highest expertise was to control, influence and read others. Now he does it with incredible ease, as his will can break minds and make large groups of people (weak-minded of course) do his every bidding. Adding to this, he is good in telekinetic powers, as lifting even big objects isn't a problem to him. He's also able to reach into someone's body (using his telekinetic and telepathic powers combined) to influence it - break bones, crush lungs, stop hearts. He also mastered the Force to sharpen his senses.

Adding to this, he develops his knowledge in more complex ways of the Force. His Nightsisters are slowly deciphering the spellbook and by now he has already learned some useful spells and rituals from it, allowing him for example to conjure fire or cast mists. He has little knowledge in Sith Alchemy, although he had little sources of it and he seeks more and more resources to learn it. Seth's newly acquired skill is Battle Meditation - he has just learned it and still needs to master it, but the first battle tests have been performed and they went very good. Seth utilizes the VII lightsaber form. It allows him to channel the emotions which he usually restrains, to

unleash them onto his enemies. He uses the Force to help himself out, but truth be told, he has neglected the art of lightsaber combat. Now, his skills in it are mediocre, as he hasn't trained it, nor has he faced any lightsaber combatant. While facing adversaries equipped with casual weaponry would be a problem to him, facing someone skilled in lightsaber combat would be a true challenge for Seth.