Arathilion Icquilu
Count of Serenno and Lord of the Bogan
Count of Serenno and Lord of the Bogan
It came as quite a surprise to those who had followed the career of Count Icquilu when it was revealed that the man who had won the hearts of the public and the ears of the rich and powerful was a Dark Jedi who went by the name of Nescius Caedo.
Surprising, but not perturbing.
Arathilion had come back from the dead to claim his rightful seat atop the Serennan nobility in a story presented like a fairytale by the media. The public immediately sympathised, warming to the man who had been exiled, ousted and pretending to dead in order to remain alive for the decades leading up to his triumphant return. Greedy and idealistic senators alike flocked to meet the new man, the former wishing to take advantage of his supposed naivety in galactic politics and the exceedingly deep pockets of Serenno, in which his hands now rested; the latter saw him as a symbol, a beacon of truth and fairness. A happy ending. They had been romanced in quite the same way as the public. Even the Jedi extended a hand of friendship to the new boy on Coruscant.
Arathilion, or Nescius, as he was even unsure himself at the beginning of his dual identity, settled naturally into the heights of Coruscant. Supping with senators and celebrities, having the public eye upon him, throwing lavish parties for politicians and socialites, distinguishing between class and fame. He felt as if he had returned home after a great quest, particularly in his residences upon Serenno itself, his birthplace. The planet held not the pain or anguish he had remembered, but a new, burning future.
The man split himself in two. In one breath he was Arathilion Icquilu, the Count of Serenno, a benevolent, popular and wealthy raconteur in the comic strip of the galactic play. And in the other, he was Nescius Caedo, the High Lord of the Bogan, assassin of the dark side. His dupe was fool proof. But he was unable to live two lives for too long. He seceded his position in the Bogan, unable to commit both to it and his role as the Count, to a successor, a new addition to the ranks. He was gracious and understanding, although the honorific title of Lord was still used when addressing the now-former second in command of the Bogan.
And so the demands of one of his two lives lessened, though they did not abate. He continued forging friendships as the Count, evolving from the new addition to the Republic's high and mighty to a recognisable, lasting fixture. A residence was built upon Coruscant, not quite an embassy, but reminiscent of the grand Serennan palaces, albeit dwarfed by them, that stood halfway across the galaxy. He was here to stay.
Arathilion decided it was time to share his deepest, darkest secret. There was no illegality associated with being a Dark Jedi, he was entitled to whatever beliefs he wished, that was one of the rights the Republic fought for, one of the rights it claimed to protect. Besides, the Jedi may become wary of him, yet he had committed no actual crimes as far as anybody knew. His friends, colleagues, acquaintances and public would not care, few knew (or even cared) of the differences in opinion between the Orders of force sensitives across the galaxy, they knew him for his actions as the Count of Serenno, and they would not be washed away.
He had been betrayed, by Issan Pandara Tanoor, once his confidante and colleague of the Bogan. She had revealed his identity to the Jedi grandmaster. And Arathilion and his people had moved quickly to control the potentially damaging turn of events. Rather than being outed, Arathilion revealed all himself, genuinely and legally. The revelation was rather nonchalent, not made a large deal of, but shared, honestly and fairly. It may have been a little surprise, but it was little more than that.
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