#exarch: elle malforia

[voidendron]

Heya, hope you don't mind an extra question. I just really stan for your Exarch headcanons. Out of curiosity, how do each of your Exarchs feel about the respective planets they govern? How fond of it are they (if at all), are they just rulers or more authoritarian, ect? Thought it'd be an interesting part of them to explore.

oh I am ALWAYS happy to answer Exarch questions, don't you worry 💚💜

thank u for the ask you've opened up a whole can of worms that I can now infodump unto my unsuspecting dashboard

it kind of ends up varying Exarch to Exarch as to how they run their Fortress. so long as they keep blockade over their respective planet, Arcann doesn't really care What they do to the world itself. they have free reign to fire upon them as needed, use whatever force necessary to do their job, make their presences as obvious or hidden as they desire

so, that said!

Lesin'taliva "Lesin" Tyn (Nar Shaddaa): more....I suppose basic ruler, doesn't care how Nar Shaddaa's residents view him so long as they don't cross him. he's indifferent about the moon itself (if a little exasperated over the huge cantinas/neon lights/parties/etc aesthetic), he's just doing his job. he keeps travel and shipping routes on-and-off-world blocked, using force when necessary. he ends up the cause of a lot of bankruptcy, owed debts, cantina closures, and increased gang violence because no one can get supplies while his Fortress orbits the moon

Zar Draya (Alderaan): she's more subtle about it. She keeps travel and trade restricted with force, yes, but she also quietly blackmails nobles and makes them think things that are untrue in order to raise tension with the already-strained relationships of the various Houses. She does it more for her own (and Zakuul's) amusement, broadcasting squabbles to her homeworld and trying to exacerbate the tensions into becoming another civil war.

She does like Alderaan, though. Just....is more distracted with getting the Houses to go for each others' throats than to admire the world's beauty. Maybe in another life, she'd have appreciated its mountains and even gone to visit there with Hyra.

Forta Gair (Belsavis): She rules over Belsavis with an iron fist. Nothing - and I mean nothing - happens planetside without her approval first. She had crop fields burned, supply stockpiles ransacked, cuts the power on the regular in colder areas, picks random victims for experimentation. All because she can and she wants to see what will happen as the inmates get desperate.

She hates Belsavis. She's incredibly jealous of the other Exarchs' stations, finds the worlds they rule over far more interesting than her planet full of convicts and segregated cell blocks; those forced to live in the shadow of her Fortress suffer her ire and ill temper over it.

Jom Vanten (Hoth): uh. His is. Complicated. It's whatever he's programmed for, honestly. He holds trade and travel hostage, and when White Maw start overstepping their control he doesn't hesitate to step in and have his Fortress fire upon them - albeit with a "low" setting, but that's still plenty to decimate whatever group he shot at. Occasionally his programming is altered, and he may let up - or he may strike even more mercilessly than before. It wholly depends on who sets his mind - and he's Definitely the worst when Vaylin orders an alteration.

He's indifferent about Hoth. He doesn't have the capacity to feel like, nor dislike, for the world nor its inhabitants.

Now, pre-Exarch Jom? He would have disliked the planet's cold, but been fascinated with the snow since he'd never seen it before, and the creatures adapted to live in it.

Tarso Gren (Tatooine): Basic rule. He has no interest in starving or killing everyone planetside for no reason, so does allow some trade, but all ships are scanned before leaving or entering Tatooine's atmosphere. Those with weapon shipments and the like are taken into custody or shot down. While Tatooine's residents Do want him gone, they're certainly better off with him than some of the others.

He likes the planet, if only because it has vast stretches of uninhabited desert that he can test weapons on. Doesn't mind the heat, either.

Dezaar "Dez" Tora (Bothawui): Not only rules over Bothawui with an iron fist, but also didn't hesitate to use her Fortress' strongest weapon settings to fire upon it at first inkling of a rebellion. She's extremely paranoid about her own death at the enemy's hands, and the Bothans contacting the Alliance spooked her something fierce. After she killed thousands, the world went quiet - it was as if everyone was holding their breath, afraid of setting her off again.

She doesn't care about Bothawui itself; it's just a station to her. It's the people she doesn't care for - she's had visions of her own death at the hands of rebellion, so.... well. Need I say more? ;)

Elle Malforia (Balmorra): We'll just say.... she takes "follower of Tyth" to a whole different level - especially when compared to the far calmer Tarso who was raised by followers of Tyth but...is pretty much never angry?? Anyway, this is about Malforia, not Tarso. She ruled pretty strictly over Balmorra - and she was also the only Exarch who consistently showed her face publicly and personally carried out public punishments to Balmorra's people when they went against her rule or tried to sneak around her blockade of the world.

She's the one who captured Tai, Zasha, and Malita and sent them on their way to Zakuul to face Arcann's wrath - and in the meantime held a public execution for his vice president to send a message to the world's people. She would have continued to be a thorn in Balmorra's side for a long time if the Shroud hadn't blown up her Fortress and taken her captive......

She doesn't like Balmorra. The bugs are too big, the ground and water too irradiated, the people too goddamn stubborn why do they keep rebelling dammit.

Andur Melor (Voss): Andur... Oh, Andur, my dear. He feigns a strict rule - but then turns a blind eye when smugglers are trying to run life-saving supplies to the people of Voss, allowing them to "sneak" through uncontended as if he never noticed them there. He's mostly quiet, blocking trade and travel when needed to keep Arcann, Lesin, and Tarso off his case, but he has no interest in stifling the survivability of the world's people.

He's fascinated with Voss. Its culture, its species, the way it seems to be in a perpetual state of autumn with the colors of the leaves. He regrets what he has to do and that he makes the world suffer as a result of it.

Adhi'ren "Ren" Zotar (Old World, no Fortress): Zotar is. Incredibly jealous of the other Exarchs for getting their grand Fortresses and ruling over their very own planets, while he's stuck babysitting the Old World. He tries to control it with force, resorting to violence to try keeping it in a chokehold that it always slips out of the moment he turns away.

....at first. When multiple attempts to end the Arena fights fail, and he gets into an argument with some of the champions, well. When he's goaded into the ring, his career takes off and he grows Pretty Damn Fond of the Old World, to put it mildly.

[voidendron]

Elle Malforia, Exarch of the Balmorra Star Fortress, was fanatical even by the standards of her fellow Exarchs.

Malforia had trained as a Knight from the time she was very young by her parents, who were staunch traditionalists of Zakuul's Old Ways. As a result, Malforia also adopted more outdated views than her peers, and fought more-so for the gods - more specifically, Tyth - than for her Emperor. As a follower of Tyth, she allowed anger to rule her, and grew increasingly more aggressive as she grew older.

Other Knights considered her a danger to those around her, as her aggressiveness and temper tended to get her and others into trouble. Even so, she was a powerful Knight and no one could deny that she was useful, even if her leash needed to be held a little more tightly than her peers'.

She was more than willing to volunteer for Project: Exarch when she heard of the chance, and was known to throw her newfound weight around to get things to go her way. She used her position within her Fortress to strike at Balmorran officials who would dare to oppose Zakuul and the gods, quickly earning her a reputation as she was the only Fortress Exarch to show her face, and often, to pull off these public executions.

Unlike her fellow Exarchs, Malforia's Fortress was accosted by the Shroud's forces long before the Alliance had the firepower to even think of striking against a Fortress. Her battle-station was ultimately destroyed, and Malforia taken prisoner so she could be studied by the Shroud themself.

[voidendron]

What happens to Elle Malforia ?

Unfortunately for her, her Fortress got attacked by the Shroud before the Commander even knew the things existed. She was taken prisoner to be studied, while her Fortress was destroyed.

The debris still orbits Balmorra as the only indicator it was once there.

When HK escapes the facility with Zeeyo, they free her so she can help them get out, and she meets her end just as in Shroud of Memory: Getting sucked out into space when the elevator opened.

Her only fear is realized, and she's quickly forgotten by the galaxy.