Backstory Family Matters

[Darth Nathemus]

Some time after 168 ABY
IC: Nathemus, Queen Ellisana, and Ticus
Location: Royal Palace, Tof Central, Tof​

It had been many years since the last Galactic War. A joint coalition of Sith, Jedi, and Celestials led by the Beloved King of the Stars, Kain, had defeated the mysterious beings of Dark Illathurion and kept the galaxy from falling into complete ruin. The war was devastating, but once again, the one called Sedriss was a survivor. It seemed back then that he always would be.

But that was when he was nothing more than a Pain-filled warrior mage.

These days were much different. Following the conflict, he set out to do what he wished to do years ago. Darth Nathemus retired from the Dark Council and the Final Sith Order at large, and left the Seidren Citadel, the Malevolence, and Prakith in control of Steward Veida Oramel until the return of the King. Taking his most favored personal articles, weapons, and armor, he left the main Skyriver in his Sith Meditation Sphere and passed into Firefist for the first time.

Though his time with the Nagai, his ancestral kin, was brief, he found a new home with the people who had once been their enemies, the Tof.

The Crown Princess of the Tof was smart, beautiful, resourceful, and cunning. Her father, King Borious, was strong and wise and he had tried for years and years to match his only daughter with a suitable man, she refused them all. The Princess, Ellisana, was a prodigious Master of Farsight, though Force-Sensitivity was rare among their people. She was one of the few lucky ones. Even as a young girl, she always saw an outsider who was of their former enemies' kind, but knew nothing of their ways. She always knew it was necessary and destiny for her to fall in love with an outsider; Ellisana herself was an outsider. She was the only child of an aging King in a society that was only governed by men, historically. However, while the people may not have been progressive, her father was. He believed in his daughter and even changed the line of succession laws to include first-born daughters, rather than only sons. She would be the first Queen Regent of the Tof Kingdom.

But a few years before her ascension to the throne, Ellisana's visions and dreams finally rang true. She met the outsider she had seen so many times, and the two spent many moons together. Ellisana and Nat, she called him, resolved to be married and raise the next generation of the Tof dynasty.

​

It took much time, but the King had never been steered wrong by his daughter before. With Borious' blessing, the two would be wed in the Royal Palace at Tof Central. Headlines rang true across the world:

WEDDING OF MRS. ELLISANA, CROWN PRINCESS OF TOF, MISTRESS OF THE FUTURE AND MR. NATHEMUS, PRINCE CONSORT OF TOF, KING OF PRAKITH

On their wedding night, their consummated love resulted in the conception of their first-born, who would be born six months later. They named him Leviticus, but Nat would always call him Ticus.

Today was Ticus' third birthday. And though Ellisana was three months pregnant with their first daughter, who would be named Sandara, Nat and Sana and always wanted to give Ticus his first lesson in the ways of the Force on his third birthday.

"Happy birthday my son!" Sana exclaimed. "Happy birthday Ticus!" Nat shouted. Both parents were extremely excited for their son's monumental day. "We love you buddy!"

In days long past, the love the former Dark Lord showed to his wife and young son would have killed him, like it would have killed any other user of the Eternal Hatred technique. But Sana's love for him was what saved him. She was born with the innate power to manipulate the Midichlorians in others and within herself. Her theory, seen through Farsight, was that a future iteration of herself returned to her birth and bestowed her the power. Because of her love for Nat, she almost immediately manipulated his cellular makeup to reverse the damaging and deadly affects of his former signature power. After their years together, Nat's long white hair had returned, his skin was back to its steel grey pigmentation, and the cracks in his flesh were all but gone.

"Thanks daddy, thanks mommy!" Ticus replied. He was so grateful to his parents. They'd given him everything he'd ever needed and taught him to work with them for what he wanted. This lesson would be no different, and he'd have to work hard. Even as young as he was, even as a Crown Prince of a Kingdom, work was in his nature. "Now can I finally learn about this Force thing y'all talk so much about? Please!"

Ellisana chuckled and said lovingly, "Of course you can, Leviticus. I'll let your father take the lead on that one. He was raised in one of the major religions of the Force."

"Thank you, my dear," Nathemus replied. "Now son, there's a lot to learn about the Force and it'll take years to learn it all. But today I want to start with its nature. The Force is a connective energy that flows through you, me, your mom, my father Papa Nihl, and every living being in the Galaxy. There's two religions that say the Force has a Dark and Light Side, but we don't believe them. The Force, by nature, wants balance. And it is balance. Life, death, growth, regression. All of these things flow from the Force."

Ticus interjected. "Dad I'm not sure what reli-- um what was the 'r' word again? I don't know what that is. I know dark and light are opposites."

"Yes, my son, dark and light are opposites. The word is religions, I'll teach you what that means soon but not today. How about this? You know what groups are. I'll call them groups for now. The Force doesn't have those opposites opposites. But some groups think it does." Nathemus paused, contemplating his next words while remembering his nearly 40 years of devotion to the Sith Order. He feared it was a matter of time before one of them would need him again. //No no, I'm here now. Back to Ticus.// "Ticus, we are called Force wielders. That means we can manipulate the Force and use its energy for our needs. Remember last week when you sneezed and Advisor Amon's face froze? We laughed at him, but that was the Force."

"Hahah," Ticus laughed. "I'm glad Amon didn't get mad at me. I thought it was so funny!"

"We all laughed at him, Leviticus, he needed it," Sana was so amused. It was one of the few times that her and Nat had seen flashes of the Force in their son. But it was only the first couple years and he'd be trained day in and day out.

"Daddy, mommy, if my sneeze froze his face, how was that the Force?" Ticus asked them.

"Well, the Force has many powers we can use," his father replied. "None of us can use all of them, but ice powers, we call them Cryokinesis, is one you got from me. When I was a part of one of the groups, I was the best at Cryokinesis."

"That's so cool dad!" Ticus was so excited to learn more. "Thanks so much! Best birthday ever! Open presents now?"

"Of course, my boy, I think we've talked enough about the Force for today. Let's get into some of your presents. My love, my boy, let's go back to our private quarters and retire for the evening."

"Yes, Nat, thank you for teaching him his first lesson. Tomorrow I'll take point. Let's go to our quarters, have him open gifts, then we'll eat a personal birthday dinner in the private hall. Then we can rest." Sana was content. Her vision at a young age rang true. Nat was the man who was destined for her and their family. It could only get better from here.