Talak Rand

[Phoenix]

Talak Rand is known in the Outer Rim as @The Arcanist. Unless a character has been explicitly informed, it is not widely spread knowledge that Talak is the Arcanist. Talak is not known by his face, but is recognized by the mask that he wears while assuming this persona.

 

[Phoenix]

Episode 1: Rise of the Arcanist​

Talak's story hasn't been any more simple in the days since his training. His first explorations in the galaxy weren't particularly successful as a Jedi actually managed to catch sight of the lightsabers of Ender and him, and they failed to capture the artifacts they were pursuing. He met a Force-sensitive woman who he deemed to be an assassin - perhaps irrationally - and the two parted ways with a threat and a scuffle. Shortly thereafter, Talak set about building up the Sith Eternal. He worked to establish a base on Korriban and began planting seeds of corruption in the mind of a young, unaffiliated Force-sensitive while remaining careful to conceal his true affiliations from the Jedi.

He accepted the request of a fellow Sith Eternal and headed to Kashyyyk to help her tap into the power of the dark side. In the process of the corruption, she was subjected to many dangers and atrocities, and Talak questioned his role in becoming like the man he hated: his deceased master.

Things became much more complicated after this. Taking a keen interest in the death of a caf shop owner on Coruscant, Talak launched into a series of perilous adventures alongside the Sector Ranger Trys Aran. They pursued the killer to Gamorr where they destroyed a pair of slaving rings and killed the son of Durr the Hutt. Badly wounded and now practically leading a slave rebellion, the two shared an intense moment before parting ways and leaving Talak more confused than ever.

Talak decided his efforts could best be served by pursuing ancient, lost knowledge for the Sith Eternal, so he set out to find the secret of the ancient Sith Alchemies. He tracked a Sith holocron from its location in the possession of Crimson Dawn to the gladiator pits on Nar Shaddaa. He was pursued by a bounty hunter and a Sector Ranger and struck a deal with a local, Force-sensitive slicer. After convincing the Sector Ranger to work with them, the three found the holocron, killed Gurrba the Hutt, started a small slave rebellion, and escaped.

Realizing that he needed not only the holocron, but also a memory crystal, he tracked the crystal to a palace on Nal Hutta that he worked with Ender to infiltrate. Finding the crystal inside as well as an old Jedi mask, he decided to take the mask with him.

Once again reconnecting to the Sith Eternal, Talak extended help to another fellow Sith Eternal and helped her put a sympathetic politician in power before returning home for the first time in nearly five years to heed the call of the Eternal.

From there, he headed to Tattooine, where he and Ana investigated the rumors of Darth Vader's origin there. They were unsuccessful in their endeavor and found themselves captured and dropped in the empty desert to be hunted for sport, only narrowly surviving, and Talak watched Ana succumb deeper to the corruption he had introduced to her soul.

Talak's actions against the Five Syndicates drew notice from the Durr the Hutt, who placed a bounty on his head and on the sabers of Force-users. Although they couldn't identify the killer who had mounted the attacks, the dangers prompted Talak to take on a public identity and claim credit for the the masked killings on surveillance video under the alias "The Arcanist." Although not specifically naming the Jedi, the blue lightsaber, Jedi robes, and the not-so-subtle implication in his declaration point the finger toward the Jedi Order.

 

[Phoenix]

Episode 2: Rejection of the Arcanist​

After news of the criminal known as the Arcanist spread like wildfire, the Legionnaire set to work trying to find a lost Gree hypergate. Although things hardly went to plan, and his partner was wounded, they found information that led the Arcanist to the archives on Gree along side his apprentice.

Promoted to a Warden of the Dark Side and still searching for answers, Talak returned to Trys and nearly left the Sith Eternal. However, instead the pair worked to track down the Flower Killer only for him to wound Talak and flee once again.

The Arcanist continued his strikes, repeatedly running into a Jedi Knight through the will of the Force. His curiosity surrounding the Jedi grew and he went out of his way to meet with multiple Jedi while also beginning to cultivate relationships with potential allies in order to consider the reformation of an Empire.

During the meeting to discuss the Empire, he received a warning that the Eternal wanted Trys dead, and he immediately warned her before rushing to meet her. After a tense end to their meeting, he vented his frustration with violence against a local crime group and nearly harmed the woman he loved.

His time was spent searching for arcane secrets and working to form the new Empire. After weeks of not seeing one another, Talak received a distress call from Trys and traveled to Tund where the two were nearly killed by the darkness. After traveling to Mon Cala to blow off steam, the news of the attack on a Sector Ranger station reached the pair and they once again parted ways with mounting tension.

Combined with growing pressure surrounding Trys's investigation and the eventual arrest of Talak's long time friend and student, Talak's confusion and frustration only grew.

When news of Trys's serious injuries reached him, he traveled to meet her only to discover a major attack on the prison where Ender was being held. After confessing his love for her, he rushed to the battle and officially decided to leave the Sith behind. Aided by the Jedi Knight Hannibal Grayza, they slew a Champion of the Sith Eternal. Having lost an arm in the duel and without a faction any longer, Talak has put aside the mantle of the Arcanist and now looks to redirect his path toward redemption.