#darth umbris

[thornescalling]

remembering my old swtor rp partner and desperately trying to find them but am unable. misery. i can't remember their url but i have so many fics we did together still but neither tumblr search nor google can find them. agony.

anyways, lord shayn. darth umbris. captain laroc.

*muah*

i miss u

i hope you're doing well

i hope you know our time together still brings me joy to reread all these years later

i hope you know i still think about all the art i did, all the texting back and forth before and after class, how excited i would be for tumblr notifications, playing through the agent story together and vibing the whole time

and someday, i hope you know i spent hours trying to find you again

[vultures-and-scavengers]

“No, of course I’m not an SIS agent causing as much destruction and sabotage within the Empire as I can, while also trying to get higher ranks and more security clearance so I can leak more secrets. Nope. Not me.”

[starsofnorway]

«In umbris potestas est»

Darth Maul ✨

Cryssy Cheung

[aurriearts]

(please click for better quality thank)

first of the portraits for the giveaway winners - @highjustices’ Aleri Shayn, aka Darth Umbris \o\

(also happy belated birthdaaaayy 🎉🎉)

image descriptions underneath readmore 

[image 1: image is a painting from the bust up of a togruta woman with saturated reddish purple skin and sparse dark blue stripes on her lekku and montrals, which are a whitish yellow. she is wearing a black sleeveless v neck, mostly covered by her lekku. the background is bright orange, yellow and magenta in a gradient with loose brushstrokes to give an abstract impression of fire. she has an oval face but a squared jaw, bright orange eyes and a gold headdress made from teethlike shapes fanning out with a rounded centrepiece ending in a point hanging from the middle “tooth” shape.

she also has white facepaint; curved across the bridge of her nose, a thick line on her bottom lip and either side of below the apples of her cheeks and just next to where both her eyebrows would end. her head is tilted slightly left and she is looking to the right away from the viewer with a disdainful expression. end image.]

[image 2: cropped version of image 1, a closeup of her face. end image]

[vultures-and-scavengers]

// umbris, lord of rage // calumnia the dread lord // cordatus, lord of prudence //

//umbris, despot of the shattered empire // caliga, empress of the forsworn betrayers // cordatus, lost to the ashes of ziost //

original below the cut:

[vultures-and-scavengers]

do you ever think about how by the end of chapter 3, the sith inquisitor doesn’t even have their own body anymore? changed and altered at the most fundamental levels by the mother machine. your head is not your own, you share it with the dead. your body is not your own.

how much of you has been stripped away by the sith order, forced into compromise after compromise, just to stay alive?

[vultures-and-scavengers]

Vanilla(Republic). Things are mostly according to the vanilla storylines, with a few exceptions. Kho skips the Knight Chapter 2 to partner up with Aliya as he recovers from the loss of Master Orgus, and Sarrai takes his place instead, and she’s the one that ends up mind-controlled by the Emperor- Orgus wasn’t her Master, there’s no ghost to break her out. Kho and Aliya launch a rescue mission and get her out, and Kho goes on to complete Chapter 3. Aliya goes with him to fight the Emperor.

Vanilla (Empire). Xiann and Tyma split the Inquisitor storyline: Xiann goes to Tatooine and Nar Shaddaa, Tyma goes to Balmorra and Alderaan. Chapter 2 and 3 see Xiann remaining mostly on Dromund Kaas to play politics, make friends, and enable the completion of the Silencers, while Tyma does the Force-walking. Calumnia joining Intelligence around the end of Chapter 2 of the agent story changes Cipher 9′s path a little, but the large events are mostly unchanged, however Intealligence is NOT disbanded. Warrior and Bounty Hunter are almost completely unchanged.

Vanilla Revan Plot. We fuck some things up here. It’s my own Revan, who did not destroy the Star Forge, but did return to the Empire, as she’s a sort-of halfway Child of the Emperor. He doesn’t take control or order her, and she doesn’t know, she’s just mildly influenced into courses of action. The Republic breaks her out, but the Imperial team sent to the Foundry is composed of Revanites: she is not killed, and the Foundry is transferred to “Imperial” hands before vanishing and getting covered up by Revanites. She begins plotting the downfall of both Sith and Jedi from the shadows.

Makeb. Not really any story changes here. Wrath (Mythra) handles it on Imp side, Aliya does the Republic side.

Rise of the Revanites. We go straight from Makeb into the assaults on Korriban and Tython: Arkous claims there’s no better way to field test new Imperial Isotope-5 technology than on the Jedi homeworld. It raises suspicions on both sides, and Calumnia, leading Intelligence to quietly investigate Arkous. Arkous is discovered to be a traitor and part of an unknown cult, and Calumnia requests the Wrath secretly take him out, which she does. Tyma, now Darth Umbris, takes his spot on the Council.

Rogue Sith. Fearing the discovery of her Revanites, Revan influences Malgus enough and he chooses to create a schism, starting the First Imperial Civil War. Investigations into Arkous’ benefactor (as he does not share Revan’s name in this timeline, and Revan doesn’t announce herself or bomb the Temple at Rakata) are halted as Malgus takes priority. Revan also organizes the release of the Dread Masters as another diversionary tactic, stalling for more time for the Star Forge and Foundry to continue to build her military’s strength.

Revan’s Reveal. With Intelligence still intact, Beniko’s operation on Rishi is supported by Intelligence itself, with multiple Ciphers playing their part... having been briefed ahead of time so they could play their part knowingly. Theron Shan is there as well as the Voidhound. Lana Beniko still betrays Theron, but this enrages Darth Calumnia, and Beniko is banned from working within or with Intelligence once the mission on Rishi is over. The Battle over Rishi still happens, but it’s not meant to be some massive battle where the Republic and Imperial fleets are taken out in one blow. It’s meant instead to announce Revan’s presence, and then lead the Republic and Empire to Yavin.

Yavin. Yavin is a nightmare: this is not a campaign finished in a few weeks. Revanites are dug in, and the jungle prevents effective use of tanks, artillery, and air support. Yavin is a meat grinder with the Republic and Empire paying for every foot they gain in blood and death. Revan’s intent is not to win, but to bog down, wear out, and demoralize her opponents’ forces. The Yavin campaign lasts 11 months, and at the end, with the Republic and Empire having finally made it to the Temple’s gates and believing victory is in sight, Revan plays her final card. The Temple is a trap, loaded with explosives, and the explosion causes massive casualties for the Republic and Empire.

Revan’s War. As the Empire and Republic reel from their loss on Yavin, Revan launches new assaults on key locations all over the galaxy, including the Kuat Drive Yards, Balmorra, and the Tytun Rings. Zakuul’s skytroopers and Eternal Fleets are replaced by the Star Forge and Foundry’s near limitless production of droids and starships. There is no Zakuul, just the Rakatan space stations and Revan. As the Republic and Empire begin to regroup, Revan glasses Ziost. Most of the population perishes, including Darth Cordatus (Xiann).

Imperial Schism. Darth Calumnia and Darth Moirai plan secret peace talks with the Republic, believing that war with the Jedi was foolish with Revan seeking to wipe out both orders. Their peace talks are leaked, and Revanites and Sith Traditionalists alike whip the Empire into a frenzy of controversy, turning into the Second Imperial Civil War. Darth Umbris claims leadership of one faction, outwardly appearing a rational leader who wants to focus on Revan and end the Civil War, but secretly encourages it to intensify.

Betrayal of the Forsworn. Calumnia is unwilling to fight in a civil war as Revan (who killed her little sister) continues to expand her holdings and collect more and more victories, and deserts the Empire, signing a mutual defense treaty with the Rift Alliance, and thus forcing the Republic to accept her faction as an ally. Most of Imperial Intelligence and a large number of Cordatus’s followers join Calumnia, including the Lord Wrath, who has been disillusioned by her wife’s increasing bloodthirsty behavior (Darth Umbris) and decided to dissolve their marriage.

A Losing Battle. The Republic stands alone against Revan as the Empre consumes itself. The Forsworn find a home on Tython after a reluctant Jedi Council allows them to make their home in the ruins of Kaleth. They contribute massively to intelligence efforts, and organize small strike teams to make quick hit and run attacks to attempt to bog down Revan’s advances. It becomes clear, however, that Revan is winning this war, and Calumnia works with Jedi Archivists to study Revan and her history in an attempt to discover a weakness they can use.

and that’s all i have, folks

[vultures-and-scavengers]

honestly its very funny to me that miyala got the name lord of liars, darth calumnia, and she runs intelligence and knows all and shit but like. her little sister is literally two faced, definitely a mole/traitor, and everyone’s like yeah, umbris enjoys picking a fight and is good at fighting, and she’s also very angry.

[vultures-and-scavengers]

Darth Umbris, the Sith Lord who’s real identity is Tyma Caliga.... loyal Republic SIS Agent.

[vultures-and-scavengers]

darth calumnia has never been considered a fearsome fighter. to be sure, her younger twin sisters are frightful, darth umbris with her ghosts and her rage and darth cordatus with her lightning and her knives. but calumnia is terrifying only in that darth mortis looks on her with a particular pride, and that imperial intelligence, rebuilt brick by brick by her hands, is completely loyal to the former watcher.

oh, perhaps one might bring up that she declared kaggath against darth zhorrid, with nar shaddaa as the arena, but darth zhorrid was widely considered incapable and darth calumnia had made her name on nar shaddaa as a intelligence broker for the hutt cartel.

when darth calumnia is roused from her datapads, analyzed over a cup of tea with a trio of watchers, told to head to oricon to face the dread masters, it is a fool’s errand. the intent is to shatter the trio of deadly sisters, and calumnia is the weak link.

she has no talent with the dead, and very little aptitude for the more martial arts of the force, excepting force drains and mental arts.

darth calumnia goes anyway.

the dread masters are the perfect benchmark against which to test the power of her draining skills and the power she wields over illusion. a dark game of dejarik plays out over oricon, and as calumnia marches, alone, into the fortress of the dread masters, having accepting their offer to become the sixth, the dread masters believe the game is finished, the board put away.

they open their bond to her, and she pulls at the gaping wound, and then she drains it. she grasps the very being of the five, and clenches her fist and thinks about how her sister consumes ghosts, and calumnia consumes the living.

she is not a fool, and as she staggers, her ciphers form out of wisp and shadow and approach her. the bodies of the dread masters lie motionless, and calumnia stares at them, before her lips twist into a gentle smile. how fortunate we train our ciphers so well. if i was a better sith, you wouldn’t have needed to rescue me.

cipher 18 unloads a magazine into brontes, the others leave killing blows of their own. when calumnia returns to the dark council, she praises her ciphers, remembering to remind the council that after all a cipher had taken down jadus- of course a team of ciphers was crucial to the defeat of the dread masters.

after all, darth calumnia has never been considered a fearsome fighter

[vultures-and-scavengers]

like the point of darth umbris is that you cant destroy evil with evil. you just become the new evil. you just take the place of everything you were trying to defeat. no, it doesn’t matter what her intentions are or that she’s working with the sis the entire time.

she is still sith. she is still very very dark. there is no good ending to the story, because she betrayed everything about herself in order to accomplish what she wanted. and thats the point. she did the easy thing. she took the past of least resistance. she chose to destroy and to twist herself and that can’t be undone.

you can’t destroy the sith by becoming one.

[vultures-and-scavengers]

love darth umbris because she’s a power fantasy but also because she’s about being a power fantas gone wrong. she’s not like. let me give a character power so they fix things. she’s a power fantasy that corrupts and eats away from the inside. and the only good end for her is to walk away! to leave all of her power behind and never use it again!

but she can’t!

she’s a monkey’s paw! she wanted the power and the ability to destroy the sith and the empire from inside, and she got it! but she is sith and so she destroys herself from the inside! she got what she wanted and it’s terrible!

[vultures-and-scavengers]

liar

darth calumnia is only half a sith. the lord of lies, people name her in the halls of sith academy. the elder sister of the twin dark lords cordatus and umbris. cordatus is a lord of cooperation, umbris a lord of rage. they are predictable, understandable.

calumnia is not.

calumnia walked the halls of imperial intelligence as a minder, a watcher, long before she stepped foot in korriban. her eyes are piercing, all seeing. the holonet is her power, and whispers are her daggers.

she is hidden. unpredictable. a lord of mystery, and so it is fitting, perhaps, that one day darth rictus, head of the sphere of mysteries, does not show up to a dark council meeting. that one day she sprawls in his seat wearing his claw gauntlets. she is not challenged. cordatus is perched in the seat of ancient knowledge and umbris has slaughtered her way into the seat of military offense. acina has been known to work with darth calumnia and marr is allies with the twins. it is enough.

the lord of lies ascends.