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Author Topic: The Mak'Tor - background information...  (Read 12931 times)
Karmack
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« on: January 04, 2018, 09:01:46 PM »

So, in writing recently I've had to fill in a LOT of cracks for the Mak'Tor's background, origin, etc.  And I think there might be some misconceptions about this group of Grays that were totally unintentional.  So I will do my best to correct that here.

I will attempt to create a post for different categories - Origin, Organization, Infrastructure, Characters.  I'll do my best to fill in what I "know" about each.
If a question comes up or something is missing, let me know or just ask the question and I will do my best to fill the gap.

Thanks again!  Since we all share a common universe (SW) its good to know what's going on.  You know, in case we happen to 'bump into' each other...  :-)

Karmack
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« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2018, 09:05:26 PM »

I canNOT wait to read this!  I'm already hooked Karm  Wink
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« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2018, 09:08:19 PM »

Yes, this will be great. If I could make a request, could you also do one on the "Song". Maybe just go into a little more detail as to what you had thought about it and stuff. I know I have used it a little in my own story, but I feel like I still don't have a good grasp of what it is.
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« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2018, 10:21:13 PM »

ORIGINS

The Mak'Tor Order, as best as can be determined from the incomplete records now available, began with a single care-taker Knight.  In the very early days of the Jedi that order noted a strong locii in the force on Coruscant.  This mountain, one of the tallest on the planet and in the form of a steep cone-shaped spire, was already riddled with caves both natural and artificial and there were various "holy places" and shrines built on its slopes from unrecorded antiquity.  The Jedi Order established an informal shrine of their own, and left a care-taker who hired workers from the local human population to assist.  Over time several shrines were consolidated and incorporated into the Jedi Shrine as the Jedi came to dominate the site.  The leader of the care-takers was known by a title bestowed by the local helpers - The Mack of the Tor, or "King of the Hill".  

Over time, these caretakers evolved into a small Jedi sect, generally human, almost exclusively humans from Coruscant in the early days of the Order, who were not only force users but also members of a very small group known as "singers".  These force-users heard an expression of the force that was musical in nature.  Some described it as having a 'sound track' for life, like watching an entertainment with background music that set a tone or tenor for the scenes.  It tended to be predictive (again, background music) and could also assist multiple singers in coordinating their movements.  "Battle Song" became a catch-all term for what was in essence an enhanced battle meld singers shared when in joint combat.  Over time, several songs, or "motifs" were discovered that could, through the force, be used to enhance various force abilities, particularly force-assisted healing.  For more than a millenia the Mak'Tor shrine on the Spire was known as a center for healing.

It was also noted that some particularly strong singers could make connections with force-sensitive crystals like Adegan and Kyber.  These connections allowed strong singers to focus and enhance their force abilities even further.  A few highly specialized crystals also became part of the Mak'Tor, most notably a trio of Adegan crystals emplaced within the Spire that used a connection to the Song to help maintain the balance of the force nexus within the Spire.  This trio of crystals was first created and emplaced by Kage Jim Xandin.  His grandson, Klu Xandin, created another crystal known as "The Ancient One" that reportedly acts as a form of Holocron for the Masters of Song who have carried it within their sabers.  Another crystal, StarFire, was lost when its holder was killed with Master Hoth and members of the Army of Light at the end of the Jedi-Sith war on Ruusan.

Through the millenia, the Mak'Tor were never more than a very small sect of Singers within the greater Jedi order.  For the most part they concentrated on the healing arts, with a rare Sentinel tasked with monitoring an entire planet from hiding or battle master among them.  Singing was very rare, more rare among the force-sensitive than force-sensitivity was among the general populations, so their numbers were never large.  

This co-existence continued until Grand Master Kimar expelled the order circa 600 BBY.  About a third of the Order of the day renounced the Order's "heretical" teachings and remained in the Jedi order where Kimar required them to also purge the techniques of the Song as well as their Gray beliefs.  The other two-thirds - about one hundred Knights plus mates and children (almost exclusively humans from Coruscant but with a smattering of other races) travelled to M'Tzigon, a human colony in the Deep Periphery well off the beaten pathways.  The already existing colony world was fairly small but had a thriving tech base and abundant land and resources.  Sadly, the final group to leave the Jedi Temple with Kage Odjina never arrived on M'Tzigon, disappearing en-route to a secondary colony site the Kage had selected to diversify the Order's holdings.  No official record of this effort has survived.  Unofficial records record the survival of a handful (perhaps as few as two) of the expedition's members - and no Knights.

Since 600 BBY the Mak'Tor have lived in the M'Skigon mountains on M'Tzigon.  They continue to focus on the healing arts, and their healers are famous throughout the Outer Rim and along the space lanes for their skill and knowledge.  Since very few of these healers are Knights (and therefore do not carry lightsabers) they were not generally harrassed or harmed by Order 66, though they did tend to 'fly under the radar' during the tenure of the Empire to avoid any "Imperial entanglements".  The small number of Mak'Tor knights have remained covert, often working in the shadows to maintain Order and Justice when possible.  Mak'Tor Knights also have a propensity for hunting Inquisitorious as well as an on-going effort to find and assist any Jedi survivors that may remain at-large.  
« Last Edit: December 11, 2019, 08:13:28 PM by Karmack » Logged

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« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2018, 10:22:44 PM »

Yes, this will be great. If I could make a request, could you also do one on the "Song". Maybe just go into a little more detail as to what you had thought about it and stuff. I know I have used it a little in my own story, but I feel like I still don't have a good grasp of what it is.

I will add this.  Good idea!  :-)
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Karmack
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« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2018, 10:24:16 PM »

So, in writing recently I've had to fill in a LOT of cracks for the Mak'Tor's background, origin, etc.  And I think there might be some misconceptions about this group of Grays that were totally unintentional.  So I will do my best to correct that here.

I will attempt to create a post for different categories - Origin, "The Song", Organization, Infrastructure, Characters.  I'll do my best to fill in what I "know" about each.
If a question comes up or something is missing, let me know or just ask the question and I will do my best to fill the gap.

Thanks again!  Since we all share a common universe (SW) its good to know what's going on.  You know, in case we happen to 'bump into' each other...  :-)

Karmack
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« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2018, 10:49:31 PM »

Fascinating detail!  A lot of holes in that History unfortunately...some of it almost seems...intentional...
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Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

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« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2018, 02:20:41 AM »

Fascinating detail!  A lot of holes in that History unfortunately...some of it almost seems...intentional...

It ... might be.  One thing to remember, though: They lost a lot when they got kicked off of Coruscant.
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Karmack
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« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2018, 06:15:09 PM »

The Song

OK, so this is more OOC.  :-)  "The Song" was born when we were talking around a table at home one evening over dinner.  "What would it be like if real life had a sound-track, like a movie or TV show?"
We've all had that moment, its been parodied in movies itself:  "Don't go in there?  CAN'T YOU HEAR THE MUSIC?Huh"

LOL

So, I started thinking: What if a Jedi could "hear" the "song" of life? 

And the Mak'Tor Singers were born.

****
IC
****

The Mak'Tor will tell you that the Song is the underlying "current" or "river" of direction for all living things, sung by the Maker Himself to provide the structure, rhythm, harmony and direction of all life in the Universe.  The Force is the medium through which the song propagates, much as air is the medium through which normal aural music propagates.

Most force users can hear the song to some extent, but since they're not trained in what it is or are even aware of it's existence they can't really hear it.  Far fewer hear it clearly, and only a very small group of people can actually sing the song and manipulate it themselves.  These few are Singers - people who not only hear the elements of the song in the force, but can create that song themselves.  The overall creation of song does not imply Godhead or demigod status, any more than using the force makes one a wizard or demigod.  The vast majority of singers only use motifs already known and which fit into specific parts of the song, enhancing their use of the force for specific things.  Healing is one of the most common uses, as healers are able to apply force power far beyond their own native ability by singing a force song - and therby focusing force energy that they cannot otherwise harness.

And that is the essence of the Song theory and theology.  The song is the direction.  The mind structures the direction mechanism as music because it is comprehensible to us in that form.  But what a singer is really doing is using a force-enabled connection to either focus energy (via a known song) or harness power in a new way (with a unique song not already flowing in the underlying song of the force) for a specific task.  The functional expression is a boost to the user's overall ability to harness the force, sometimes in extremely dramatic ways.

Crystals come into play when they are tuned to the force already.  Kyber and Adegan crystals help channel and connect the force user to the force.  Singing via these crystals enhances the focus and power even further.  However, when crystals come into play there is a dual danger.  To much energy can create a feed-back loop in the crystal, causing the crystal to shatter.  The crystal can also allow a force-user to focus so much force energy that the energy could overwhelm and even kill the user as well.  Some evidence suggests that repeated usage increased the user's tolerance for this energy channeling effect.  Other evidence suggests the opposite.  Empirical data seems to indicate that which way a user goes depends primarily on other factors of the user, as results are inconclusive and the data pool is to small for any meaningful statistical analysis.

How singing is accomplished is not precisely known.  Most singers realize it through vocalization, particularly when improvising.  It is generally described in the same terms.  Singing.  Humming.  Whistling.  One Zabrek male called it "grunting at pitch".  Truly advanced singers, however, can do it without vocalization.  In the Mak'Tor, Master of Song Karmack and Master of Song Chillum are both known to vocalize when singing - and have been observed to "sing" while also speaking or otherwise engaging in non-song vocalization.   Kage Silman Lo also does not vocalize, but rumors abound that he makes a burping sound when singing something that requires intense concentration.

As you may imagine, the Song is considered the underpinning of life in the universe by Mak'Tor theologians.  The Mak'Tor tend to consider perversion of the song the way a Jedi thinks of a Sith.  However, while an ideal of Right and Wrong are laid down in the holy books (The Way of the Maker primarily, and a secondary book, The Psalter) it is understood that the song, due to the influence of evil, may not always flow as the ideal would want.  Even the song's path is secondary to what is Right and Good.  Evil is the true enemy. 

Which is where a singer can find him or herself in trouble.  If a powerful Dark Singer has changed the song in their area of influence from Good to Evil, the motifs they wish to use may not be present.  If the singer is not trained or capable of singing independently (i.e., creating a structure for directing force energy in the 'song matrix' as it were), then they will not be able to sing effectively.  They will be forced back on just their native force talents, which in the case of healers are often small and some Healers and Knights let their native talent languish, relying only on song.  This can be a serious weakness.

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Karmack
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« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2018, 08:05:20 PM »

Organization

The ancient organization of the Mak'Tor order was quite simple.  The members of the Sect were Singers.  The senior Singer was the "Master of Song".  The remaining members of the order organized themselves by seniority.  They were Jedi, members of the Jedi order, and primarily tasked with maintaining and tending the Spire shrines. 

Around 3000 years BBY the order became a more formal sub-set of the Jedi Order.  However, at this time the song was also seen as almost exclusively useful for healing.  The leader of the Mak'Tor was bestowed the title "Master Healer" and tasked with training Jedi with singing capabilities as healers.  This changed dramatically during the New Sith wars, when the dramatic power of singers came to the fore.  Two powerful healers - Master Jars Kinsler and Master Slo'Ma Mack - were members of the Army of Light and followed Master Hoth into the 7th Battle of Ruusan.  Master Kinsler was Master Hoth's personal healer and went with the 99 to the final battle.  Master Slo'Ma stayed behind with the bulk of the army and helped deal with the aftermath of the thought bomb.  Slo'Ma was believed to be carrying the Ancient One at the time, while Master Kinsler was buried with the StarFire crystal on Ruusan.  Both crystals were "focus" crystals, song-modified to allow the wielder to enhance their song capabilities and extend the reach of their force techniques and songs.  During this time the Mak'Tor developed their warrior traditions, both of the Knights and the Men-At-Arms, non-singing (and sometimes non-force-using) military men who supported the knights in the field.  When the Ruusan Reformation was instituted by Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum following the end of the New Sith War on Ruusan, Master Slo'Ma reverted to his primary role of being a healer, but he also passed on his battle knowledge and what he had learned of the crystal to his protege. 

As the Jedi-led Republic military disbanded, the Mak'Tor Men-At-Arms founded a new colony in the Outer Rim on a world called M'Tzigon.  While the Mak'Tor Order remained on Coruscant and embedded in the Jedi, over 20,000 military men, spouses and children migrated to M'Tzigon and quickly established a highly independent and thriving colony. 

The Mak'Tor colony took its name from the Order that spawned it, but outside of a small Sentinel outpost there were no representatives of the Order on M'Tzigon at this time.  The people who migrated there set up a constitutional representative republic to self-govern the planet and hold to a strict form of free enterprise.  The Sentinels stationed on the planet played a critical roll in this, acting as arbiters and negotiators, keeping the system honest and providing an injection of compassion and justice to temper the raw laissez faire edges of the system.  The adoption of the Way of the Singer at a near planetary level helped in this, as at least lip service was done to principles of Right and Wrong by even the most hardened commercialism.

At the same time, Master Slo'Ma Mack and his successor, Master Julian Kree began a philosophical shift within the Mak'Tor order that would lead to them adopting what amounted to a "Gray Declaration".  Due to their stubborn belief in the Maker, the song, and the Way of the Singer and it's extrinsic codes of Right and Wrong the Mak'Tor more and more did not see the force as "light" or "dark" but just as a force.  While there were of course serious dangers to allowing emotion - especially anger - to control a Knight's actions, the Mak'Tor did not forbid or necessarily discourage delving into gray areas of force use or even what main-stream Jedi would consider Sith powers.  This legacy can be traced back to "Kage" Dorian, head of the Order and Master of Song.  Dorian defeated a Dark Singer who had managed to take over, briefly, the balance crystals on the Spire in 2534 BBY.  Dorian defeated the singer and restored the balance crystals, then spread them out and separated them.  Dorian is credited with creating the Mak'Tor Shrine that still exists below the Emperor's Palace on Coruscant, as well as the deep chamber where the Light and Dark crystals reside.  Following the battle and his near death at the hands of the Dark Singer, Dorian also began exploring ways to harness what he saw as the far more effective combat techniques employed against him by the Dark Singer.  This legacy - of learning and using every technique while maintaining and solid grip on the moral compass provided by the Way - became the hallmark philosophical teaching the Mak'Tor.

This led to conflict, which began in earnest when the Jedi reformed in 1000 BBY under the Ruusan Reformation.  Mild debates became heated ones, and relationships began to fracture.  This culminated in the Kimar Purge, where the remaining Mak'Tor were expelled under Sentinel Guard like common criminals in an effort to both remove them and destroy their credibility.

The Mak'Tor Order formally became Gray at that time, moving officially into and expanding the Sentinel Outpost on M'Tzigon.  The "civilian" Mak'Tor government welcomed them, folding the Knights and Healers into their Department of Defense.

Today, the Kage of the Mak'Tor also serves as the planetary Secretary of Defense, serving on the planetary Governor's cabinet.  Their interaction is very much like the Jedi of the Old Republic, as they were before the Ruusan Reformation.   

The Kage is the head of the Council of Balance, which has five members. 
   Kage
   Master of Song
   Master of Balance
   Master of Blades
   Master Healer

Reporting directly to the Kage is the Head of Intelligence - Master Telow'na Jackson.  Most of the intelligence network are Healers, who observe and report when on assignment.  (Zearic, you didn't hear that...)

Master's College
The collected Knights who have attained the rank of Master form what is called the Master's College.  The College gathers to confer rank on all Order members and assigning Teidowans for individual training once they complete the formal schooling in the Temple.  The Master of Balance is the informal head of the College, but his only powers are to chair meetings and in the event of a deadlock to cast a tie-breaker vote.

Currently the Mak'Tor Master's College has twenty-three members.  Of these, the following are masters of both force and song:
Silman Lo - Kage -                 Zabrek Male - blue saber
Du'an Chillum - Master of Song     Human Male - blue saber
J'Nor Kroven - Master of Balance   Human female - light-blue saber
L'Gan Zane - Master of Blades      Human female - green saber staff
Ju'Lus - Master of Healing         human male - blue saber
Er'Lav Racc - Maenowan Master / master of song - human female - aqua-green saber
Ka'A'Mack - Master of Song/Maenowan Master - human male - yellow/gold saber

Additionally of note: Meanowan Telow'na Jackson - human female - hot-pink saber.


Numbers:
There are 23 Meanowan Masters and/or Masters of Song in the Mak'Tor Order.
There are 28 Silver Kowan Knights.
There are 59 Kowan Knights.
There are 14 Teidowans assigned to Silver Kowan Knights or Meanowan Knights for final training.
There are 237 padawans in the Temple in training between the ages of 7 and 16.
There are 1028 trained Healers.  Seven are also Knights.  (Note - many Knights are trained in healing, but are not considered "healers".  Ka'A'Mack, for example, is a powerful healer but is not considered a "Healer")


Men-At-Arms
The Men-At-Arms are the Mak'Tor Regular Army (Militia).  They are small but professional.
General Elax Cliff is the Master-of-Arms and commander of the Militia.
The militia has a standing cadre of 20,000 Men-At-Arms supported by a small Navy.  The Navy has a few corvettes (blockade runners) and a wide variety of modified light freighters like the "Wayfarer".  The Mak'Tor militia also has a large supply of ARC-170 heavy fighters modified with updated weapons and with a crew reduced to two - pilot and tail gunner/observer.  There are also seven Eta-2 Actis-class interceptors and four Syliure-45 hyperdrive docking ring modules to fit them.  Knights usually use the Eta-2s, while the ARC-170s are flown by Men-At-Arms.

Men-At-Arms generally carry song-steel tipped spears for ceremonial purposes.  The weapons are archaic but all Men-At-Arms train with them on the off-chance they may need to use them in real combat.  They can be effective even against force-users, as the weapon can block and survive several saber strikes before being damaged beyond use.

In addition to the Cadre, every able-bodied person on the planet between the ages of 18 and 55 are considered part of the Militia and undergo basic training and enter reserve units, which meet and train for 2 weeks twice a year.Total population of M'Tzigon is about 20 million people total.  The Shires and Provinces are self-ruled via a constitutional representative democracy not unlike the Old Republic.  The Men-At-Arms represent the professional standing army, 20k strong.  The Militia constitute over a million additional fighting troops trained but only serving 4 weeks / year on-duty, spent mainly training.



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« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2018, 08:16:07 PM »

Only read the section on the song but very useful
...
So it's almost like emphasizing the resonant frequency of a situation, emotion, or pattern of behaviour to enhance it?
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« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2018, 08:36:17 PM »

Yes, that's a really good way to put it.
There's also a predictive aspect of it.  I played on that more in the beginning but we've gotten away from it.  Imagine being able to hear the music of a movie while you're "in" it.  The music gets suddenly tense.  You know something is about to happen.  Or there's a massive minor chord.  Someone died.   Or like in the fighter sequences where you have an "empire" theme and "rebellion" theme going, dueling back and forth...

But if you can tap into it and bring aspects out and to the fore... Its like picking the part of the sound track you like and turning that part up louder...  :-)
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« Reply #12 on: January 05, 2018, 08:44:47 PM »

Yes, the "Song" section was extremely useful. Gives me a little more to work with with Rowahn. I am pretty sure that I have had the "if you could hear the soundtrack" conversation before. It seems like one that I would have had. But I really find the "Organization" section to be extremely interesting. I don't know why, but it was really cool to see the breakdown. I can definitely tell you have put some thought into if recently. And I gotta say, Meanowan Telow'na Jackson has quickly risen to one of my favorite characters, for one simple reason. She has a Hot Pink lightsaber.

After learning all of this with the singers and Karm and stuff, I kind of wonder what would happen if Rowahn ever met Karm. I feel like the "She is untrained, but stronger than she knows" quote would apply in that situation. Anyways, good information. This is exactly the kind of thing that I have done in creating my own Fantasy universe. More of just information than actual stories.
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"I am the Outcast's Shadow" - Taegin Roan
"Confronting fear is the Destiny of a Jedi" - Luke Skywalker
"So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala

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« Reply #13 on: January 05, 2018, 10:00:07 PM »

Equipment

Much of Mak'Tor equipment is typical of the Republic/Empire.  Generally their military equipment is older, from the Clone War era, though many of their auxilliary ships are actually Old Republic-era freighters that have been upgraded.  A typical example is the "Wayfarer", a CEC XS Stock Light Freighter. 

The "Navy" of the Mak'Tor consists of ten CR90 Corvettes, aka CEC "Blockade Runners".  Of these, two are generally down for overhaul at any time, with 8 online for active duty.
Fighters consist of ARC-170-M heavy fighters.  These clone-war era fighters were modified to accept R2 units and to carry a crew of two instead of three. 
The Men-At-Arms had about 400 of these fighters on-hand and the capability to manufacture more.

Additionally, during the Clone Wars a dozen Eta-2 Actis fighters and six Syliure-45 hyperdrive docking rings were acquired through cut-outs from Kuat Industries.  Of these, seven fighters and four rings remain in-service and are used exclusively by Knight pilots.  Parts to keep these systems on-line are produced locally but no new fighters of this type have been constructed.

Ironically, no T-65 X-Wings or other iconic Rebel Alliance fighters are known to be operated by the Mak'Tor.  The CR-90s are the newest ships in service.

Deposits of Songsteel ore were found on M'Tzigon shortly after the initial colonization.  Larger deposits are found in the asteroid belt.  It is common for Mak'Tor knights to build their lightsabers from song-steel hilts, and song-steel is used for weapons and personal armor.

Typical Man-At-Arms "kit":
A280 heavy blaster rifle
DL-44 heavy blaster pistol (side-arm)
song-steel fighting kukri blade (Gurka)

Smart-fabric battle fatigues - Dark Gray with black load-bearing harness
   2 aerosol/smoke grenades
   2 fragmentation grenades
   2 concussion grenades
   surival pack
   medical kit
   rations (5 days)
   communications gear
   compass and wire spool
   climbing gear
   various (individual)

Heavy boots
gloves
helmet
"Overlay" - loose-fitting combat smock, inter-woven with a blaster-dissipation net.
  Men-At-Arms smocks are black with light gray markings on the smock.
  Most troopers also carry a good supply of power packs for pistol and rifle.  Minimum required is enough for 50 pistol shots and 200 rifle shots.

Mak'Tor Knight standard equipment:
Same base uniform - Dk Gray smart-fabric fatigues, black boots, gloves, LBH
   Generally knights do not carry grenades in favor of more specialized gear, like listening devices, sensors, etc.

DL-44 Heavy blaster pistol (side-arm)
Lightsaber (or two)
Song-steel fighting knife (style of choice to individual)
Song-steel wrist guards and sometimes armor plate over fatigues.

Note: Knight smocks are trimmed in color, generally matches the Knight's blade color. 
   Ken: blue trim
   Arnor: cyan trim
   Karmack: Gold trim

Combat knives - Karmack prefers the kukri-style blade forged in song-steel.  Arnor uses a more traditional tanto-style fighting knife and stiletto-shaped throwing knives.  Karmack's boot daggers are also 6" Stilettos.
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Master Singer of the Mak'Tor

Karmack
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Light side points please.


« Reply #14 on: January 05, 2018, 10:45:32 PM »

Characters

Name: Karmack  (actually Ka'A'Mack of the Mak'tor Clan, M'Skigon Province, M'Tzigon System)
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Home world: M'Tzigon
Age: 37
Saber Crystal: Kyber, bright yellow. (The Ancient One)

Karmack is a Gray Jedi and has attained the rank of Maenowan.  He served the M'Tzigon system and surrounding area as a Sentinel, guarding against and intercepting evil influences.  His mentor is Master Chillum, an aged Sentinel who was originally part of the Jedi order but left when he fell in love.  Rather than fight the Order, he resigned and took up residence on M'Tzigon with his wife and eventually his family.  His daughter, Arnor, is also a Gray with the rank of Silver Koawan and is married to Karmack.  Coincidentally, the pair were married on the day Order 66 was implemented by the Emperor.

Shortly afterward, some of the first Inquisitorius visited M'Tzigon, following rumors of a Jedi in the area.  Master Chillum, his apprentice M'Klonda, Koawan Karmack and his apprentice Hermon Layne, and the Gray Knights T'lumm, Jo-Lon and Arnor confronted the Inquisitorius, who were backed up by a company of clone troopers.  In the battle, Master Chillum was severely wounded and crippled, M'Klonda, Layne, Jo-Lan and T'lumm were killed and Karmack suffered an injury to his right hand and forearm that destroyed most of the nerves in his hand.  As a result, Karmack wears a cybernetic glove over his hand, which is tied to a surgically implanted interface in his mid-right forearm.  This allows him to use the hand as normal, with somewhat greater than average strength.  Master Chillum continues to serve as a Seer and battle-master and resides in a rebuilt complex in the territory of Clan Macktor in the M'Skigon province of M'Tzigon.

Karmack and Arnor left M'Tzigon shortly after his rehabilitation and promotion to Maenowan on the extended and on-going mission to hunt down any remaining Inquisitorius or other Jedi hunters they can engage as well as to assist any living Jedi and the growing Rebel Alliance.  Their last known whearabouts appears to be Naboo, where a mysterious explosion has set the construction of the new Death Star back severely, which may give the Rebels time to organize an attack on it before it becomes fully operational...

Karmack: Born 33 BBY
Began training at age 7 - 26 BBY
Gray Trial: 16 BBY
Koawan Trial: 14 BBY
Silver Trial: 8 BBY
Maenowan Trial: 2 BBY
Maenowan Master Trail: 4 ABY
Master of Song: 4ABY - unique to the Mak'Tor, initial level of those who will eventually become "Singers" of the Clan.
Saber: Primary - golden-yellow "The Ancient One" Kyber
  Secondary: song-steel hilted saber-staff, matched Adegan crystals, "captured" and tuned, bright yellow, not as golden as the Ancient One.

Arnor:  Born 28 BBY
Began training at age 6 - 22 BBY
Gray Trial: 11 BBY
Koawan Trial: 6 BBY
Silver Trial: 3 BBY
Saber - Aqua-blue kyber

Master Du'an Chillum - Master of Song and Member of the Council of the Mak'Tor.  Master Chillum is Karmack's mentor as well as his father-in-law.  He was close friends with Karmack's father and when his father died Master Chillum took Karmack as his own Teidowan and trained him in both the Jedi Arts and as a singer.  Karmack is married to Arnor Chillum, daughter of Du'an Chillum.  Master Chillum wields a blue saber.

Kage Silman Lo - Kage of the Mak'Tor - Dathomirian Male - Red Hills Clan (origin). Silman Lo is a typical Dathomirian male - muscular and powerfully built with dark red skin tones, red-black markings and vestigial crainial horns.  His eyes are a striking light-blue/silver-blue color.  He wields a blue blade.

Master J'Nor Kroven - Master of Balance - Human female - Member of the Council of the Mak'Tor - Master Kroven is a master singer and experienced in force meditation and precognition.  She is also the council member with the strongest personal control, capable of pin-point telekinesis and is also the most knowledgable of the council on the Way of the Singer. (Holy text)  Carries a light-blue blade.

Master L'Gan Zane - Master of Blades - Human female.  Master Zane is in charge of all saber training and is a master of all seven forms.  She is a practitioner of Juyo, wielding a green-bladed saber staff.  The staff is unique in that the hilt is shrouded with a song-steel shroud plated with cortosis and inlaid with sapphire etching in a runic pattern.

Master Ju'Lus - Master of Healing - human male - Ju'Lus is a rare Knight among the healers.  He is only surpassed by Chillum and Karmack as a singer and his focus on healing makes him the most potent healer among the Mak'Tor.  Many of his motifs are to powerful for the normal cadre of healers to use safely, but he has taught them to Chillum, Lo, and Karmack.  Rumor is that the Geonosis motif that restored Ken and Zearic and drained Karmack was a motif Ju'Lus taught him augmented by the crystals in play.  Regeneration on that scale is generally not possible, however, as it will kill the singer before the healing is complete.  Ju'Lus wields a blue blade, rarely ignited.

Master Er'Lav Racc - human female - Meanowan Master and Master of Song - Er'Lav is middle-aged and bright eyed.  She is a Sentinel, works for Telow'na Jackson, and is currently off-world on a mission.  She wields a cyan saber.

Meanowan Telow'na Jackson - human female - Meanowan Master and head of Mak'Tor intelligence.  Telow'na comes across as someone's grandmother, but at her core she is a dangerous opponent.  Capable of deep thought, she is a chess master and loves the intrigue of intelligence and counter-intelligence work.  She was trained as a Sentinel and spent most of her field work under cover on Coruscant, spying on the Jedi and the Senate.  She wields a hot-pink saber.

Historical Characters from the Mak'Tor past:
Master of Song Master Klu Xandin - Master of the Mak'Tor - Human Male - circ. 3000 BBY.  Created the Kyber crystal known as "The Ancient One", the original "smart" crystal.  It is now Karmack's saber crystal but is also a form of holocron.

Kage Dorian - Human Male - Cir. 2500 BBY.  Defeated the Dark Singer only known now as "The Namless One", who had set up a series of dark crystal caverns around the Spire on Coruscant and used her art to take over the crystal caverns with Dark Energy.  She was eventually defeated by Kage Dorian, who restored the three Crystals of Balance on Coruscant and cleansed the Crystal Cavern, creating the Mak'Tor Shrine on the Spire as well as the deep vault at the base of the Spire.

Kage Odjina - Twi'Lek male - Cir. 300 BBY.  Leader of the Mak'Tor when Grand Master Kimer expelled them in his efforts to "cleanse" the Jedi of undesirable teachings.  Kage Odjina then led a colony effort on Vyth, which ended in disaster, but was able to overcome much of the damage by mutating the Song of the Dark Singer back to balance.  His sacrifice is remembered in the Tragedy of Odjina, in the form of an epic poem often sung.

Master Jars Kinsler - Master Healer - Member of the "Army of Light", bore an Adegan crystal called "StarFire" which was a song focal crystal and possibly a holocron as well.  Died on Ruusan, buried in the Shrine there with his saber stored as one of the artifacts.

Master Slo'Ma Mack - Master of Song - Battle Master of the Mak'Tor at the time of the 7th battle of Ruusan.  Carried the Ancient One.  Assisted in the Jedi Order reformation that as done as part of the Ruusan Reformation following the end of the New Sith War.


Other story characters you may run into...

Kowan Illian - Former Jedi, Kowan Knight, Singer Initiate.  - Wields a blue saber.  Illian is a former Jedi padawan who was 'adopted' by Karmack when his master was killed on a joint mission.  He was promoted to Kowan and is able to hear the song faintly and utilize a few basic motifs, qualifying him for continued advancement.  While he will never be a great singer, the young knight is highly skilled and with his wife are becoming key players in the Mak'Tor intelligence community. 

Julwynn (Hri) Kohl - MIM agent, former Night Sister of Dathomir and force-sensitive.  "Free Trader".  Juwynn Kohl is the wife of Balnard Kohl, a Mandalorian mercenary with a dark past and unique physical characteristics.   Julwynn converted from serving Darth Mendax and assisted Karmack and Arnor in finding and stopping a plot to assemble what amounted to a controlled force nexus capable of using song-enhanced force techniques to literally brain-wash and enslave an entire planetary population.  She is now a member of the Mak'tor Intelligence Militia (MIM) and an official Agent of the Mak'Tor government, though not a Knight.  She is a singer and force-user, wields a red light saber and amber force-whip.

Balnard Kohl - Mercenary/MIM Agent. "Free Trader".  Veteran of the Clone Wars, fought with the Clones but was not one of the Kamino clones.  Based on a different Mandalorian genotype, he was bred for combat prowess but also made "invisible" in the force.  Unlike other living things, he has no force trace, no connection.  Force energy does not work on him and he is not succeptible to mind tricks or mind control or force pushes, lighting, etc.  A skilled force user can still effect him by touching his equipment, however, which DOES exist in the force.  He is husband to Julwynn Hri, supplanting her entire coven, and generaly neutral in leaning and morals.  He does prefer to work for good people, though, for the simple reason that they are "less likely to cheat you or kill you rather than pay you."
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Master Singer of the Mak'Tor

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