Si'alla Va'lenn

The Empress of Acheron

A native of Alderaan, Empress **Si'alla Va'lenn** was a renowned Sith warrior known for her unusual adherence to diplomacy and healing. Eventually, she came to be a member of the empire known as the Sith Imperium where she operated in the Ministry of Expansion & Diplomacy. During the twilight of the Imperium, Va'lenn had been elected to the powerful seat of Praetor and, along with several other leaders, went on to form a splinter faction: The Midnight Order. In the Midnight Order, she served as the Chosen to Empress Candicia Thul, her longtime mistress. Finally able to be wed, the couple ruled the Midnight Order until a civil war claimed the life of Candicia forcing Si'alla to assume the throne. Si'alla ruled the Midnight Order for several years before laying down her life to save the Order from a vicious force plague. She was succeeded by Neronae Vindarhin, but her legacy lived on in the form of her holocron.

## Early years

Si'alla Va'lenn was born to Aiden and Kimber Va'lenn on Alderaan. Her childhood was peaceful, the war a distant thought out in the countryside where her parents grew grapes for Alderaanian wine. She was a happy, carefree child, learning the concepts of dignity, poise, and grace from her mother, and devotion, commitment, and pride through her father. One day, as they went into town, a Sith party was staging a public execution of a Jedi leading a local resistance party. Contrary to her parent's wishes, Si'alla wanted to watch, as both the Jedi and the Sith held an unknown mystery for her, an attraction she did not yet understand. As they watched, the Jedi broke free of his bonds, beginning to attack the Imperial Forces using the Force alone as his weapon. During the chaos, a stray thermal detonator landed close to both Si'alla and her parents. In a panic, Si'alla raised her hands, and the detonator flew upwards and away, exploding harmlessly in the distance. A nearby Sith Lord noticed her actions, and when the Jedi had been slain, approached her parents, demanding Si'alla accompany him back to the Academy on Korriban, to undergo the Trials of the Sith. Fearful of retribution from the Empire, her parents agreed, and shortly afterward Si'alla left Alderaan with the Sith, heading for her new life, and new perils.

## Si'alla as a young woman

On the way to Korriban, the Sith Lord instructed Si'alla on the basics of the Force, and the war between the Jedi and Sith. Si'alla quickly grasped the concepts of the Force, but couldn't understand why the two philosophies cause so much violence and chaos. The Sith Lord knew that, without a greater understanding, Si'alla would swiftly fall in the grueling trials at the Academy, so he landed on a remote homestead on Korriban, to raise Si'alla and groom her to be a powerful Sith Lord. Over the years, Si'alla grew into a slender, even-tempered woman, although her emotions were always a central part of her life. She was capable of great kindness...but also incredible ruthlessness and anger.

## Life at the Academy

When she was ready, Si'alla left the Sith Lord behind, accepting her calling as a Sith Acolyte and beginning her true training at the Academy. Her time there was difficult, from biased overseers to rivals jealous of her growing power. She quickly grew skilled with the training weapons, enough so that she was sent early to receive an ancient Sith blade in preparation for her first lightsaber. She faced down rivals, both at her level, and in the upper echelons of the Sith, striving to prove herself and her worth to those who would either raise her, or cast her aside into the dust and disgrace.

Eventually, her efforts paid off as she became a force to be reckoned with, and a Darth took notice of her, taking her on as his apprentice and passing down her first lightsaber. Si'alla quickly modified the weapon to suite her tastes, forsaking the red synthetic crystals of the Sith in favor of lighter shades that reminded her of home. Regardless of the color, one look into her sapphire eyes when she was angry told her opponent she was no Jedi, and would not hesitate to do what was necessary to survive and continue to prove her worth.

## Time among the Dancing Flames

Si'alla continued to grow in power, gaining the title of Lord and being free to choose her own life. She joined with a group of dancers, known to the Empire as the Dancing Flames. There, she quickly found a family and trust, as well as rivals, growing as a person as she figured out her place in the galaxy. She stayed with the Flames for years, honing her skills in diplomacy, etiquette, and grace, until she was a confident, well-spoken woman. Slow to anger, yet when her fury was awoken she did not hesitate to channel that emotional strength into her connection with the Force, becoming a fierce fighter for what was important to her.

## Discovering the Imperium

Si'alla had many run ins with the Sith Imperium prior to her joining them. On Vaiken Spacedock she met Darth Iax, quickly befriending him. As they worked together, she was a voice of reason in his approaching madness, as she had no agenda but simply focused on living life to its fullest extent. When Iax was struck down, she mourned her friend, and vowed to end the life of his killer. This conflict would be with her for years, and her foe's death would not come at her hand.

## Training with the Voss Mystics

Si'alla left for Voss, seeking healing of mind and body after Iax's death and her good friend Six's disappearance. On Voss, she stayed longer than expected, finding a surprised interest in the healing arts. The Voss eventually took her in and trained her, until she was a capable healer with the Force, able to heal most any injury at the cost of her own strength. She learned how to build powerful barriers around her mind, blocking outside influences on her thoughts and emotions. Her healing skills grew in power, but they were not infallible, as she only had a limit to how much she could heal without using the strength given to her through someone else. Nevertheless, she left Voss confident and ready to explore the galaxy once again.

## Death of her parents

Si'alla left to Alderaan, seeking to reconnect with her parents. However, once she arrived, she was dismayed to find the family vineyards burned to a crisp, with her parent's bodies nothing more than charred skeletons among the wreckage. Furious, Si'alla vowed to find their killer, and end his life herself.

## Conflict with Darth Arrax

Si'alla eventually traced leads to Darth Arrax, though when she confronted him she found herself sorely outmatched. She learned Arrax had ordered the attack on Alderaan, and Arrax who had been partly behind Iax's death. Her conflict with Darth Arrax lasted years, and she gained many new allies and enemies throughout the battle. Eventually, however, her hate cooled, and she let go of Iax and her parents, accepting their deaths and deciding that Arrax wasn't worth devoting her life to anymore.

## Joining the Imperium

Si'alla first main interaction with the Imperium came when she represented Darth Vaguest in his trial for High Treason, due to her firsthand accounting of events. Supreme Judicator Reveren took notice of her, and commented after the hearing about her interactions. This piqued Si'alla's curiosity, and after a time, she joined with the Imperium fully, although for a time she was not assigned a ministry due to the recent changes among the Imperium.

Si'alla grudgingly worked alongside Darth Arrax and his Keeper, Ruu'san for a time, until Arrax's death at the hands of Prince Andrekios. His death shook her, seeing the enemy she had fought for so long die before her eyes. In a way, it freed her, as she could fully devote her attention to the Imperium, who she had begun to appreciate more fully, and strove to be a more active part of their dealings.

## Raised to Deputy Minister

Si'alla was surprised when the newly appointed Praetor, Erasis, approached her about becoming the Deputy Minister of Expansion and Diplomacy. However, she accepted gladly, as she had always felt at home dealing with others, coming to agreements, and felt comfortable with the tasks the post required. In a ceremony at Erasis's retreat, the Praetor raised her formally, granting her the robes of her position among other gifts, and now she waits for an opportunity to prove her worth to both the Praetor and the Imperium.

## Civil War

Si'alla left for a months long mission that took her into the far reaches of the galaxy. Upon returning, she found the Imperium in the process of tearing itself apart in the wake of Emperor Arestenax's disappearance. Her attempts at diplomacy failing, she chose the side she thought was correct, taking part in the massive battle between Regent Vindictiva's fleets and those of Empress S'rahnia, at the same time dispatching her apprentice Kimberly on a mission to Hoth. Though her ship, the Silence ll was in retreat along with S'rahnia's fleet, the return of the Emperor brought a sudden and absolute end to the conflict, though the Emperor was slain by an assassin not long after his reunion with the Imperium. Si'alla was reprimanded on behalf of the new Emperor Salvatus by Citadel, admonished for taking part in conflict rather than staying neutral as a diplomat should, and reduced in duties and abilities.