Loharr Talem
Legendary Member
Character Backstory: Apprentice Loharr Talem
Notable Kill: Dana Carrana
Year: 153 ABY
~~~~~
There was silence. Well, not completely silent. There was the quiet sound of water trickling in from the ceiling and from various windows. The subtle sound of pouring rain coming in from beyond the confines of the compound. The distant sound of sparring between Shalla and Tic.
Loharr sat in his quarters, going over the holonet, scanning for any news that might be of interest. There wasn’t much news. Nothing interesting at all. Nothing from the Republic, the Hutts, or the Empire. Strange. There was typically something of note on the holonet from them.
Must be a slow rotational period.
Then, moving onto the local bounty listings, the assassin began to scan the never ending list of ever-expanding names. Name after name, crime after crime, bounty after bounty. Not a single one stuck out to him. Not a single bail jumper, murderer, rapist, or anything. Nothing.
Then, a single name stuck out. Reaching out to tap the name, bringing up the profile. The name was correct. The headshot was her. Her profession was identical. The crimes… Well, those were news to him.
It was her.
Dana Carrana.
The woman who took him in, taught him to kill. Set him on the path to becoming the man he was today. An assassin, a killer. But she preached honor and morals. To not kill those who were innocent of the actions of those around them. To not break the sanctity of deals and agreements.
His anger rose, boiling inside him until they boiled over in an explosive reaction.
Roaring out in rage, he flipped his measly desk. Destroying the terminal in which he was using to scour the holonet. Shouting and screaming, he destroyed the furniture in his room. Grabbing his lightsaber, and only the lightsaber, he stormed out of the room.
Stomping his way down the halls, passing by several other members of the Brotherhood.Jaxi and Borin, nestled into a corner, discussing something in secret. Sola seeing a very angry assassin coming her way, quickly got out of the way. Troszat and SQ were discussing something outside the garage, where Loharr just took a speeder at random, slamming the accelerator to full, and taking off through the pouring rain, completely ignoring the weather,
He never even realized his eyes were the shade of yellow and red, same as they were three years prior, having gotten that way during the job to kill Cota Ranjah.
As he sped through the rain, the droplets stinging upon contact with his face, hyper-fixated on his destination. The cantina in Mosa Town. Where Dana always went before and after completing jobs.
Regardless of what her last job was, it was just that.
Her last.
It wasn’t long before the faded silhouette of Mosa Town became visible to the assassin, not slowing down a bit. He sped into town, coming to a screeching halt in front of the cantina, crashing into a leaving patron, killing him on impact. Jumping out, Loharr shouted towards the building.
“DANA!” He roared, “Get out here, you shriveled bitch!”
There was an audible murmur from within the cantina, as several patrons filed out of the building. Odsalna included.
“Greetings, Loharr… er… what seems to be the issue?” The Weequay asked, nervously.
“Stay out of this, Odsalna!” Loharr shouted, “Bring Dana out here, now.”
Loharr paced back and forth, his hair and clothes soaking, his vision slightly impaired by what few locks of hair were in his face. His anger was seeping into reality it seemed. So much so that he thought the water drenching his being would heat up and steam away from his form.
Several moments later, Dana stepped forth from the threshold of the cantina. Behind her was Nero and Marelen. The latter of which, Loharr was genuinely surprised to see. Though his anger did not falter.
“Little Loharr! It’s great to see-” Dana started.
“Shut the hell up!” Loharr shouted, “Did you do it?”
The crowd was silent with Loharr still pacing. Dana knew exactly what he was referring to. The bounty was the topic of the town, and in fact, she had killed several bounty hunters throughout the day, as they had challenged her and paid the price.
She gave a hearty sigh, a smile upon her face.
“I must confess I did.” Dana answered, “And I don’t regret anything. All those bastards deserved it. Why should the killers be killed, when the ones who called the hits are just as guilty?”
“That is not the point, Dana!” Loharr exclaimed, “You don’t break contract for any reason! No matter the personal reasons behind it. If you don’t agree with a contract, you don’t take it! That’s what you taught me.”
“Well… times change, kid.” Dana said, “Either you change with them, or get lost to the tides of history.”
“At the cost of your honor? Your morals?!” Loharr shouted.
“Things that will only hold you back.” Dana hissed.
There was silence between the two for a moment.
“But now, I can see that you will refuse to change, Little Loharr.” She added, almost deceptively sweet.
“Then I will resign your fate to nothingness.” Loharr said, picking his weapon off his belt. “I am taking this contract, and I will kill you. Not with deception or lies or tricks, but with honor. Dana Carrana, I challenge you to a duel.”
He ignited his blade, allowing its emerald green glow to illuminate the air around them, the raindrops catching the light.
Several armed patrons drew their blasters, ready to fire, before yellow illuminated the air as well, and the patrons dropped to the floor.
“A challenge to a duel has been made.” Nero announced, “Anyone who interferes, will be promptly, and mercilessly, put down!”
Dana stepped into the street, her shoes sloshing through puddles of water and mud, stopping before the assassin that used to be her student.
“The threat issued by Mr. Threnn can be doubled through me.” Marelen announced, breaking her own silence.
The rain continued to fall, the sound of raindrops like a calming symphony. A calming symphony that would do nothing against Loharr’s anger.
“Nice eyes, Little Loharr.” Dana said, “Those are new.”
“None of your concern.” He snapped, getting into a ready stance.
“Your funeral kid.”
“Well… I am wearing black already.” He said flatly.
“That’s uncharacteristically snippy of you….” Dana said, a little thrown off as she drew a blade.
Luckily for her, her weapon was a vibroblade. A weapon that could counter his lightsaber from what he had heard. He wasn’t sure how that was possible, but she was quite vocal about the capabilities of the weapon when she acquired it some months back.
She gave the weapon a simple twirl, before getting into a ready stance herself.
The two stood across from one another, a distance of 3 meters between them, a large crowd had long since gathered. Not surprising, as this wasn’t a common occurrence within the boundaries of Mosa Town.
There was not a word spoken between them, but there was the quiet buzzing of betting going on inside the crowd.
“Begin!” Shouted Nero.
Loharr was the first to start, launching forward, swinging his saber horizontally, aiming to bisect his former mentor in two. His grip upon his weapon was slick, but the sheer strength acting as a vise kept it from slipping free.
Dana stepped forward with her left leg, blocking the slashing attack from her former student. The weapon blocked Loharr’s lightsaber with ease, but she quickly recalled the weapon as she spun around to kick at him center mass.
Loharr watched as the metal blade deflected his strike, then watched as Dana raised her leg in an attempt to strike his left. In reaction, he wrapped his left arm around the incoming leg, constricting its movement as he caught it, kicking his right leg at her left in response.
Reacting quickly to the attempt to sweep her leg, Dana jumped and spun to her left. With her right leg anchored snuggly in Loharr’s grasp,it kept her perfectly positioned as her body spun around, her left leg now careening towards her former student’s head.
Loharr knew this move. She had done this plenty of times in training before, and it had always struck him. But that was many years ago now. He had grown as a fighter, far beyond what Dana knew, thanks to his time in the Brotherhood.
Letting go of her right leg, he ducked under her right leg. Dana didn’t see this coming, and was now pleasantly surprised to find herself sort of floating in midair, parallel to the ground. The instant that he ducked, Loharr spun around, bringing his lightsaber around to slash at the upper half of her torso, quickly followed up by a kick, the sole of his boot striking at her head.
Dana was able to counter the saber strike, bringing her blade up, but the force from the strike merely pushed her blade out of the way. She was so focused on the blade, she nearly missed the incoming boot aimed right at her face.
She quickly leaned back, getting sprayed in the face with excess water and mud instead of getting a facefull of boot.
Both of them had recovered from their brief exchange of kicks and strikes, with the surrounding crowd now cheering wildly. Dana had her sword off to her left side, perpendicular to the ground, as if preparing to begin a new sequence of strikes.
Loharr’s blade was down and to his right, both hands on its grip. He too, was preparing another sequence of strikes.
This fight was more even than he had anticipated. Despite having been years since they had sparred, this was still the woman who trained him. This was the woman who he taught him what he initially knew. They basically knew each other's motions before the other enacted them. This would likely come down to a competition of strength, or whoever slipped up in their actions.
A second or so had elapsed after the exchange of kicks before the two had begun their second sequence of attacks.
Dana dipped her dominant hand back, letting the tip of her weapon fall backwards as her rear leg stepped forward. Her blade scraped the mud before slicing upwards at Loharr. Loharr responded by swinging his saber horizontally, at waist height, perfectly parrying the upwards slash from his former mentor.
Dana, seeing her initial slash was blocked, turned her weapon around, immediately changing into a downwards slash. Loharr reacted to that action quickly, bringing his saber up to meet the weapon and the two blades clashed, exploding in a flash of smoke and sparks, quickly disappearing into the pouring rain.
“When did you get so good at sword fighting?” Dana asked, unable to stop herself from voicing her curiosity.
“Some acquaintances.” Loharr answered, his voice seething with anger, as his eyes spotted the area of her sword which was in contact with the saber blade.
A smile grew on Loharr’s face, not to be mistaken for joy or any other positive emotion, but for the bellicosity of his next action.
Roaring in anger, he pushed up on his weapon, pushing its blade into, and through, the blade of the vibroblade that Dana was wielding, and its blade began to fall towards the ground. The sudden cessation of the sword lock launched Dana’s hands downard, as Loharr pulled his weapon back, quickly thrusting it forward.
The crowd fell silent. The rain seemed to freeze in midair. Time apparently ceased to function as normal. The image burned into Loharr’s mind. The look of terror on Dana’s face as the emerald blade of his lightsaber pierced her torso would be a look he would treasure for a long time.
As if it never happened, time seemingly resumed. The crowd remained silent, the rain splattered onto the ground, pattering the puddles that pockmarked the road. Dana was wheezing, as Loharr deactivated the lightsaber, and her body dropped to the muddy ground.
It was over.
She was dead.
But why did it still hurt? Perhaps it was her blatant betrayal of the code and morals she spent years drilling into his head. Perhaps it was because at one time, he had considered her to be like his mother, in place of his deceased mother. He couldn’t quite place it.
Slowly, his anger and rage turned to sorrow as tears began to stream down his face. Hidden only by the downpour of rain.
Putting his lightsaber back on his belt, he turned to face Odsalna, Nero, Marelen, and the crowd.
“The duel… is over!” Nero exclaimed, “The victory is Loharr Talem.”
But could this truly be called a victory? The death of one who taught him to be who he was today? Yes… this could be called a victory. She had grown complacent and weak, deceiving herself with falsehoods of changing to a moral code that approved of the murder of those uninvolved.
Nero was right. The duel was over.
But Loharr’s journey had just begun.
Notable Kill: Dana Carrana
Year: 153 ABY
~~~~~
There was silence. Well, not completely silent. There was the quiet sound of water trickling in from the ceiling and from various windows. The subtle sound of pouring rain coming in from beyond the confines of the compound. The distant sound of sparring between Shalla and Tic.
Loharr sat in his quarters, going over the holonet, scanning for any news that might be of interest. There wasn’t much news. Nothing interesting at all. Nothing from the Republic, the Hutts, or the Empire. Strange. There was typically something of note on the holonet from them.
Must be a slow rotational period.
Then, moving onto the local bounty listings, the assassin began to scan the never ending list of ever-expanding names. Name after name, crime after crime, bounty after bounty. Not a single one stuck out to him. Not a single bail jumper, murderer, rapist, or anything. Nothing.
Then, a single name stuck out. Reaching out to tap the name, bringing up the profile. The name was correct. The headshot was her. Her profession was identical. The crimes… Well, those were news to him.
It was her.
Dana Carrana.
The woman who took him in, taught him to kill. Set him on the path to becoming the man he was today. An assassin, a killer. But she preached honor and morals. To not kill those who were innocent of the actions of those around them. To not break the sanctity of deals and agreements.
His anger rose, boiling inside him until they boiled over in an explosive reaction.
Roaring out in rage, he flipped his measly desk. Destroying the terminal in which he was using to scour the holonet. Shouting and screaming, he destroyed the furniture in his room. Grabbing his lightsaber, and only the lightsaber, he stormed out of the room.
Stomping his way down the halls, passing by several other members of the Brotherhood.Jaxi and Borin, nestled into a corner, discussing something in secret. Sola seeing a very angry assassin coming her way, quickly got out of the way. Troszat and SQ were discussing something outside the garage, where Loharr just took a speeder at random, slamming the accelerator to full, and taking off through the pouring rain, completely ignoring the weather,
He never even realized his eyes were the shade of yellow and red, same as they were three years prior, having gotten that way during the job to kill Cota Ranjah.
As he sped through the rain, the droplets stinging upon contact with his face, hyper-fixated on his destination. The cantina in Mosa Town. Where Dana always went before and after completing jobs.
Regardless of what her last job was, it was just that.
Her last.
It wasn’t long before the faded silhouette of Mosa Town became visible to the assassin, not slowing down a bit. He sped into town, coming to a screeching halt in front of the cantina, crashing into a leaving patron, killing him on impact. Jumping out, Loharr shouted towards the building.
“DANA!” He roared, “Get out here, you shriveled bitch!”
There was an audible murmur from within the cantina, as several patrons filed out of the building. Odsalna included.
“Greetings, Loharr… er… what seems to be the issue?” The Weequay asked, nervously.
“Stay out of this, Odsalna!” Loharr shouted, “Bring Dana out here, now.”
Loharr paced back and forth, his hair and clothes soaking, his vision slightly impaired by what few locks of hair were in his face. His anger was seeping into reality it seemed. So much so that he thought the water drenching his being would heat up and steam away from his form.
Several moments later, Dana stepped forth from the threshold of the cantina. Behind her was Nero and Marelen. The latter of which, Loharr was genuinely surprised to see. Though his anger did not falter.
“Little Loharr! It’s great to see-” Dana started.
“Shut the hell up!” Loharr shouted, “Did you do it?”
The crowd was silent with Loharr still pacing. Dana knew exactly what he was referring to. The bounty was the topic of the town, and in fact, she had killed several bounty hunters throughout the day, as they had challenged her and paid the price.
She gave a hearty sigh, a smile upon her face.
“I must confess I did.” Dana answered, “And I don’t regret anything. All those bastards deserved it. Why should the killers be killed, when the ones who called the hits are just as guilty?”
“That is not the point, Dana!” Loharr exclaimed, “You don’t break contract for any reason! No matter the personal reasons behind it. If you don’t agree with a contract, you don’t take it! That’s what you taught me.”
“Well… times change, kid.” Dana said, “Either you change with them, or get lost to the tides of history.”
“At the cost of your honor? Your morals?!” Loharr shouted.
“Things that will only hold you back.” Dana hissed.
There was silence between the two for a moment.
“But now, I can see that you will refuse to change, Little Loharr.” She added, almost deceptively sweet.
“Then I will resign your fate to nothingness.” Loharr said, picking his weapon off his belt. “I am taking this contract, and I will kill you. Not with deception or lies or tricks, but with honor. Dana Carrana, I challenge you to a duel.”
He ignited his blade, allowing its emerald green glow to illuminate the air around them, the raindrops catching the light.
Several armed patrons drew their blasters, ready to fire, before yellow illuminated the air as well, and the patrons dropped to the floor.
“A challenge to a duel has been made.” Nero announced, “Anyone who interferes, will be promptly, and mercilessly, put down!”
Dana stepped into the street, her shoes sloshing through puddles of water and mud, stopping before the assassin that used to be her student.
“The threat issued by Mr. Threnn can be doubled through me.” Marelen announced, breaking her own silence.
The rain continued to fall, the sound of raindrops like a calming symphony. A calming symphony that would do nothing against Loharr’s anger.
“Nice eyes, Little Loharr.” Dana said, “Those are new.”
“None of your concern.” He snapped, getting into a ready stance.
“Your funeral kid.”
“Well… I am wearing black already.” He said flatly.
“That’s uncharacteristically snippy of you….” Dana said, a little thrown off as she drew a blade.
Luckily for her, her weapon was a vibroblade. A weapon that could counter his lightsaber from what he had heard. He wasn’t sure how that was possible, but she was quite vocal about the capabilities of the weapon when she acquired it some months back.
She gave the weapon a simple twirl, before getting into a ready stance herself.
The two stood across from one another, a distance of 3 meters between them, a large crowd had long since gathered. Not surprising, as this wasn’t a common occurrence within the boundaries of Mosa Town.
There was not a word spoken between them, but there was the quiet buzzing of betting going on inside the crowd.
“Begin!” Shouted Nero.
Loharr was the first to start, launching forward, swinging his saber horizontally, aiming to bisect his former mentor in two. His grip upon his weapon was slick, but the sheer strength acting as a vise kept it from slipping free.
Dana stepped forward with her left leg, blocking the slashing attack from her former student. The weapon blocked Loharr’s lightsaber with ease, but she quickly recalled the weapon as she spun around to kick at him center mass.
Loharr watched as the metal blade deflected his strike, then watched as Dana raised her leg in an attempt to strike his left. In reaction, he wrapped his left arm around the incoming leg, constricting its movement as he caught it, kicking his right leg at her left in response.
Reacting quickly to the attempt to sweep her leg, Dana jumped and spun to her left. With her right leg anchored snuggly in Loharr’s grasp,it kept her perfectly positioned as her body spun around, her left leg now careening towards her former student’s head.
Loharr knew this move. She had done this plenty of times in training before, and it had always struck him. But that was many years ago now. He had grown as a fighter, far beyond what Dana knew, thanks to his time in the Brotherhood.
Letting go of her right leg, he ducked under her right leg. Dana didn’t see this coming, and was now pleasantly surprised to find herself sort of floating in midair, parallel to the ground. The instant that he ducked, Loharr spun around, bringing his lightsaber around to slash at the upper half of her torso, quickly followed up by a kick, the sole of his boot striking at her head.
Dana was able to counter the saber strike, bringing her blade up, but the force from the strike merely pushed her blade out of the way. She was so focused on the blade, she nearly missed the incoming boot aimed right at her face.
She quickly leaned back, getting sprayed in the face with excess water and mud instead of getting a facefull of boot.
Both of them had recovered from their brief exchange of kicks and strikes, with the surrounding crowd now cheering wildly. Dana had her sword off to her left side, perpendicular to the ground, as if preparing to begin a new sequence of strikes.
Loharr’s blade was down and to his right, both hands on its grip. He too, was preparing another sequence of strikes.
This fight was more even than he had anticipated. Despite having been years since they had sparred, this was still the woman who trained him. This was the woman who he taught him what he initially knew. They basically knew each other's motions before the other enacted them. This would likely come down to a competition of strength, or whoever slipped up in their actions.
A second or so had elapsed after the exchange of kicks before the two had begun their second sequence of attacks.
Dana dipped her dominant hand back, letting the tip of her weapon fall backwards as her rear leg stepped forward. Her blade scraped the mud before slicing upwards at Loharr. Loharr responded by swinging his saber horizontally, at waist height, perfectly parrying the upwards slash from his former mentor.
Dana, seeing her initial slash was blocked, turned her weapon around, immediately changing into a downwards slash. Loharr reacted to that action quickly, bringing his saber up to meet the weapon and the two blades clashed, exploding in a flash of smoke and sparks, quickly disappearing into the pouring rain.
“When did you get so good at sword fighting?” Dana asked, unable to stop herself from voicing her curiosity.
“Some acquaintances.” Loharr answered, his voice seething with anger, as his eyes spotted the area of her sword which was in contact with the saber blade.
A smile grew on Loharr’s face, not to be mistaken for joy or any other positive emotion, but for the bellicosity of his next action.
Roaring in anger, he pushed up on his weapon, pushing its blade into, and through, the blade of the vibroblade that Dana was wielding, and its blade began to fall towards the ground. The sudden cessation of the sword lock launched Dana’s hands downard, as Loharr pulled his weapon back, quickly thrusting it forward.
The crowd fell silent. The rain seemed to freeze in midair. Time apparently ceased to function as normal. The image burned into Loharr’s mind. The look of terror on Dana’s face as the emerald blade of his lightsaber pierced her torso would be a look he would treasure for a long time.
As if it never happened, time seemingly resumed. The crowd remained silent, the rain splattered onto the ground, pattering the puddles that pockmarked the road. Dana was wheezing, as Loharr deactivated the lightsaber, and her body dropped to the muddy ground.
It was over.
She was dead.
But why did it still hurt? Perhaps it was her blatant betrayal of the code and morals she spent years drilling into his head. Perhaps it was because at one time, he had considered her to be like his mother, in place of his deceased mother. He couldn’t quite place it.
Slowly, his anger and rage turned to sorrow as tears began to stream down his face. Hidden only by the downpour of rain.
Putting his lightsaber back on his belt, he turned to face Odsalna, Nero, Marelen, and the crowd.
“The duel… is over!” Nero exclaimed, “The victory is Loharr Talem.”
But could this truly be called a victory? The death of one who taught him to be who he was today? Yes… this could be called a victory. She had grown complacent and weak, deceiving herself with falsehoods of changing to a moral code that approved of the murder of those uninvolved.
Nero was right. The duel was over.
But Loharr’s journey had just begun.