Circle of Serenity

### Goal

To help Xerin Hedashield overthrow the Galactic Republic and exterminate the Jedi Order (failed)

### Status/Final fate

Defeated during the Battle of Mustafar.

"*I miss her so much. And she doesn't realize I will love her forever, even if she doesn't love me back.*"
―Julian[src]
The **Circle of Serenity** is the elite bodyguard of Supreme Leader Xerin Hedashield — ruler of the military junta and hermetic state known as the Third Order in the *Across the Portal* trilogy. Born in 159 BBY during the Great Peace of the Republic Era, Julian was part of a new generation of troopers — human children conscripted into the military forces of the Third Order — beginning his training in the harsh facilities of Der Erebolten. In the waning days of Xerin Hedashield's campaign, Julian was ultimately promoted after having recently developed a personal relationship with Xerin Hedashield, who saw how his efficiency and loyalty stood out from the other candidates, hiring them all as the Circle of Serenity and placing Julian in command. Ultimately, the Circle of Serenity was finally defeated during the Battle of Mustafar.

## Biography

### Serving the Supreme Leader

#### Julian becomes the master

"*If I decide to test a general's loyalty and see if they should be made a trusted being of high rank, I will have a crack squad of stormtroopers standing by in case the answer is no.*"
―Xerin Hedashield[src]
Born in 159 BBY, Julian was taken as a child from his family to serve the Third Order. Julian later reflected that he had been too young to even remember who his family was. The child was made a black-clad trooper of the Third Order, a military junta that sought to destroy the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, whom he grew up believing were little more than evildoers that were getting away with spreading their poison across the galaxy. Whilst serving as a cadet, Julian was seen by his comrades and superiors as an ideal Third Order trooper, and consistently scored top marks as a cadet. Julian first saw the Dark Tower, the heart of Der Erebolten and of the Third Order itself, when he was assigned to the occasional chorework on the fourth floor and below. During one such cleaning session, Darth Mutialatus passed by, and Julian, having never seen the Dark Lord of the Sith in person, awkwardly saluted with a broom.

Eventually, Julian and a handful of fellow troopers he had since become friends with were officially recognized as full-fledged candidates who would join the Circle of Serenity as soon as they received exclusive training. A young woman whom General Gore only identified as “the Supreme Leader” commended their rapid progress through the ranks and ordered the General to initiate all the juveniles circling her hologram to begin a year of vigorous training, after which the newly appointed candidates would be dubbed official members of the Circle of Serenity. Julian was plagued by a fear of what would become of his potential failure of failing to achieve his lifelong dream of joining the inner circle of the enigmatic Supreme Leader. After he briefly met the Supreme Leader in person, Julian was extremely moved, being alarmed at the Supreme Leader's wisdom, insight, and the huge extent of her physical beauty. Determined to see her again, Julian worked harder than ever to prove himself worthy of her recognition.

Seven months later, Julian was approached by the Supreme Leader, whose name turned out to be Xerin Hedashield, leading to the two of them bonding together. Julian realized that he had always been prone to seeing the Supreme Leader as being powerful and attractive. When he sheepishly confessed this to her, she was initially alarmed, though she admitted that during their interaction, she had changed her mind about threatening her own life to lose weight as she had realized how secure she felt around him. She also confessed that she had remained secluded within the walls of the Dark Tower for the last decade, rarely leaving except on special errands. This was mainly because she was aware that no one in the Third Order was genuinely loyal to her as a person, instead turning their loyalty entirely to the cause itself. While she found her life to be very enjoyable, she was also extremely lonely, starving for somebody's company but having no idea who to trust. Taken aback, Julian promised that his life was but to ensure her safety. He felt more confident than he ever had before. It also occurred to him that most members of the Third Order saw her as an enigmatic being of infinite power, whereas he saw her as a natural girl, albeit a vastly brilliant girl. He became determined to give her the genuine love she deserved.

#### The start of open warfare

"*Choose a side now, People of Orenbach! One is an honor only few currently know, the other, certain death.*"
―Julian[src]
In 140 BBY, a Pearian appeared on Coruscant from on the other side of the universe and began tagging along with a Jedi Padawan named B'en'jamin Thorrn. Julian eventually learned before long that her name was Kristen and that Hedashield had not only met them both in person, but she liked Thorrn and wanted him to join her. When the children were brought to the Dark Tower as hostages, Hedashield summoned Julian so he could help her monitor the children as they escaped their bonds and battled their way through the fortress. Amazed that they were outclassing Abonin in their ability to overcome the obstacles in their path to escape, Julian was extremely anxious to meet them, but Hedashield told him to stay his hand and not go after them in person, which Julian was extremely reluctant to do. The ensuing argument got heated to the extent that Julian became uncharacteristically angry and went to his bedchambers for a good night's sleep. When daylight came, Julian spent a day playfully interacting with the other members of the Circle of Serenity whilst waiting for news, as he had the strangest feeling that something had gone horribly wrong.

With the Third Order struggling to keep their actions silent from the peering eyes of the Jedi Order, they declared open war upon the galaxy. The Conflict of the Numbers had officially begun. Fed up with the failures of her followers, Hedashield made several essential changes to the ranks of the Third Order were made. Hence, Julian was promoted as the Master of the Circle of Serenity, which meant that he got to spend a lot of time personally guarding Xerin Hedashield. She also let Julian in on a top-secret gun she kept under her pillow and showed him all of its modifications that were downright illegal. Being aware of his genuine love for her, Hedashield frequently gave Julian a lot of attention. Julian spent most of his time personally guarding the Supreme Leader or coordinating the actions of the rest of the elite circle. Hedashield had to rely on him for dealing with physical threats from a lethal distance, as while she was terrifyingly strong in the Force, her delicate body meant she could not deal with any direct threats to her. After being around each other frequently, the two eventually developed a sibling-like bond. Even so, Julian hoped she would eventually reciprocate his intense desire to marry her someday. Julian was holding court as usual in the Room of Concealment when the Supreme Leader summoned her right hand Darth Mutialatus, whom she proceeded to berate for his misgivings on Alderaan.

When Xerin Hedashield ordered Myddd to launch an assault on Orenbach's Observatory upon learning the Galactic Republic had a strong presence there, Julian asked if he could accompany his old master and finally get to see some action. Admitting that she “kind of owes [him] one”, Hedashield approved for him to go. Julian proceeded to help lead Myddd's forces in the successful occupation of the desert world, and the Republic presence was completely eliminated from Tatooine. Julian called Hedashield back and conveyed the good news, before asking what she wanted him to do. She teasingly flattered him by calling him an over-achiever, before telling him that until he was summoned back, he could journey to the ends of the galaxy and explore all the places that had caught his interest to his heart's content. She also provided him with a useful list of contacts to make his days of travel possible by providing him with resources. Upon stopping at an inn for food and making a few friends there, Julian learned that while he was exploring, the Third Order had besieged Coruscant and scored a major victory on the center of the galaxy.

#### Dissolution

When Xerin Hedashield summoned him and affirmed that it was finally time to come back home, Julian willingly returned to Der Erebolten within four hours of the summoning. There, Hedashield introduced him to B'en'jamin Thorrn, whom Julian immediately recognized as the Jedi apprentice that had traveled with the Pearian. Hence, he was completely alarmed when Hedashield calmly and patiently explained to him that Thorrn had promised to submit to her training, promising to serve her and do anything in his power to prove himself to the Supreme Leader. Julian was impressed with the man he saw. In the year after the Battle of Coruscant, Julian did his fair share of participation in helping to destroy the remaining Jedi forces, who had continued fighting after Coruscant in spite of being severely routed by their enemies.

### Final fate

Ultimately, the Circle of Serenity was finally defeated during the Battle of Mustafar.

## Characteristics

 File:Julian Advanced Graphics Standard.png

"*This is immaterial. You are the one being with the power and respectability to channel such powerful artifacts as the Z-Crystal.*"
―An unnamed member to Xerin Hedashield[src]
Julian was a very tall and handsome young man with a very slender and athletic body, measuring six feet and five inches in height. He had shoulder-length black hair which he sometimes put into a braid. He had eyes with brownish-red pupils and was usually seen in a black tunic.

Growing up on Der Erebolten, Julian was seen by his training cadre and his fellow soldiers as one of the best troopers that the Third Order had to offer. His instructors saw him as loyal to the Third Order, as well as dutiful, brave, intelligent, and possessing the strength necessary to be a great trooper and even eventually one of the Circle of Serenity. Nonetheless, he was plagued by a fear of failure, failure to impress the Supreme Leader and thus never join the ranks of the Circle of Serenity and achieve his lifelong dream. Upon meeting her in person, Julian was extremely moved, being alarmed at the Supreme Leader's power, and worked harder than ever to prove himself worthy of her recognition. He eventually was approached directly by the Supreme Leader, whose name turned out to be Xerin Hedashield. Julian was soon promoted as the Master of the Circle of Serenity, which meant he got to spend a lot of time personally guarding Xerin Hedashield. Being aware of his love for her, Hedashield frequently gave Julian a lot of attention.

Taking his high rank extremely seriously, he was a pragmatic and reserved young man as well as a powerful warrior, appearing very calm. Much like his mistress, he has shown a dark sense of sarcastic humor and was able to remain calm and unfazed in intense situations. Julian was extremely confident and this made it impossible to intimidate him. Julian, however, differed from his mistress in some ways. His patience was most tried whenever a dangerous enemy was nearby and he craved a fight, in stark contrast to Hedashield calmly waiting for her henchmen to do just that. Perhaps this was the biggest thing they had their differences about, as her refusal to allow him to fight Kristen directly caused him to become uncharacteristically angry and desert her just a few minutes before Captain Cole arrived in the Room of Concealment.

Julian was trained to believe that the Galactic Republic was depraved and that the Third Order was necessary to bring law to a poisoned galaxy, causing him to develop a sense of injustice and to believe that the government wanted its citizens to become weak and unintelligent, thus making them easier for tyrannical politicians to control. Additionally, he believed that the weak had taken the galaxy, with only the Jedi Order preventing stronger and more benevolent beings from reigning. Following his promotion from the Supreme Leader herself, Julian's galaxy worldview increased even further. Like Xerin Hedashield, he viewed people as deserving of freedom and to follow their own goals, regardless of the Republic's sense of need for control. After she told him of the part she had played in the devastation of Vrean, his loyalty increased even further, coming to see Hedashield as a purely righteous soul. He believed that life was easy to come by and genocide was the cheap cost galaxy-wide prosperity came at. Kristen claimed that Julian's naivety did not excuse him and he was evil and untrustworthy to the core, considering him a selfish scumbag who had never cared about anyone but himself and merely used others just to get his way.

## Equipment

"*To Kristen's horror, Julian was already recovering, already preparing for another vicious assault...*"
―Narration[src]
The Circle of Serenity carried blaster rifles during their time under Xerin Hedashield. All of the members of the Circle of Serenity were in excellent physical condition, being able to move with incredible grace in battle, with Julian using his momentum to charge his body for unleashing vicious blows. They all possessed great physical strength built up from years of vigorous training. Julian's metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue with greater speed and efficiency than that of a human, quickly recovering from taking a couple of bone-jarring hits during the Battle of Mustafar, much to the horror of Kristen. As a trooper, Julian consistently scored top marks in his training and was seen as someone who could become an ideal Third Order trooper. His Third Order training made him an effective marksman with a high kill rate. His fighting skills served him well in protecting Xerin Hedashield. He would occasionally use his blaster rifle as a melee weapon. Having been considered Circle of Serenity material, Julian was a gifted leader even prior to his promotion, and he faithfully led the group for two years.

## Author's comments

*“The most ironic thing about Julian is that when he rejected the Third Order, that was when his heart was in the wrong place, rather than the other way around. Despite frequently coming across as being extremely arrogant and needy and being genuinely self-centered, Julian's heart was initially in the right place. He's so freaking innocent. I believe he's spent more time with [Xerin] than anyone else has, barring her parents and Vlaire. Most people who know her almost never see her face-to-face. So I think she's had a huge influence on him. And it doesn't help that he's the one person in the galaxy that sees her in person consistently. So Julian's just as confused as he is drawn to her. I admittedly enjoyed writing that out.”*
## References

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