Vaylin

"*Rules are for people who lack the creativity to break them.*"
―Vaylin
**Vaylin** was a female Human who was a daughter of Valkorion, the Emperor of the Eternal Empire of the planet Zakuul, and Senya Tirall of the Knights of Zakuul, as well as the younger sister of her twin brothers, Thexan and Arcann. Following Valkorion's supposed death in 3637 BBY, Arcann effectively ruled the Eternal Empire with Vaylin as High Justice. Following her brother's defeat at the hands of the individual known as "The Outlander" and the Alliance's victory in the Odessen System, Vaylin became the new empress of Zakuul.

## Biography

### Early life

Incredibly powerful even as a child, Vaylin was a Force-user like her brothers Thexan and Arcann; when her mother saw that her young daughter was losing control and her morality as a child, she went to Valkorion for help, but Valkorion's "solution" was to mentally lock away Vaylin's powers, further damaging her personality. Vaylin and her brothers refused to leave their father with Tirall when she tried to take them with her.

During the Galactic War, the Emperor was weakened after his defeat on Dromund Kaas and went into slumber, Vaylin was freed of her father's control and regained her full powers. Eventually, following her father's supposed death, in which Arcann ascended to the throne, blaming the Outlander for his death, Vaylin attained the position of High Justice, and essentially functioned as the second-in-command of the Eternal Empire.

Just after Senator Evran and Darth Vowrawn pledged their loyalty to Arcann, Vaylin sensed the Outlander's spirit watching them invisibly and ignited her yellow bladed lightsaber, though she did not tell her brother why, and stabbed the spot where the Outlander was standing.

### The Outlander Escapes

In 3632 BBY, Vaylin responded to Lana Beniko's breakout of the Outlander. Upon finding the Outlander's carbonite prison thawed out, she executed the Knight who was there first. She then proceeded to wreck havoc in her attempt to recapture the Outlander, her rampage causing damage to the capitol's sun generator. When she finally cornered the Outlander and Beniko, Koth Vortena showed up and opened fire on her. Vaylin telekinetically shielded herself with a piece of debris while her squad of skytroopers were cut down. She then threw the debris at Koth's ship, damaging it but was unable to prevent the Outlander from escaping. She later executed the carbonite prisoner's overseer for not giving a satisfying response for his failure. Outlander, Beniko and Koth later find the *Gravestone*, the legendary ship that singlehandedly stood up to the Eternal Fleet, and fled Zakuul, taking down more than two dozen ships in a single shot.

She questioned three Knights, who claimed that the Outlander was allied with Senya, and executed them to ensure they weren't lying and another three because she disliked odd numbers. She then reported this to Arcann. Though she wondered whether their mother was aware that their father was inhabiting the Outlander, Arcann said it didn't matter, stating that Senya would either return to them or face the consequences.

Vaylin later got a tip from a Zakuulan socialite that the Outlander had returned to Zakuul. She proceeded to inform Arcann of this development. Arcann declined to pursue the Outlander, desiring to instead pursue his foe to their hideout.

### Battle of Asylum

Arcann later learned of the Outlander's hideaway on Asylum from the exiled Scion Heskal. Vaylin participated in the ensuing battle, leading the assault on the *Gravestone*. Facing the Outlander and Beniko once more, Vaylin claimed the former had a crush on her. Suddenly, Senya intervened and engaged Vaylin. As mother and daughter fought, Senya tried to reason with Vaylin to no avail. Eventually, Senya managed to disarm Vaylin but refused to kill her. Vaylin then revealed that Arcann killed Thexan, shocking her mother. Just then, the *Gravestone* was unmoored and all the insurgents fled Asylum. Vaylin then met up with her brother, who stated that Valkorion's power is diminished. She then stated that she'll kill Senya for sparing her life.

Upon returning to Zakuul, Vaylin listened to her brother grumbling over Valkorion plotting against them. She then added that Senya would likely kill him for Thexan's death, before confidently reassuring him that the Eternal Empire would keep her at bay. This made Arcann nostalgic, remarking that Thexan should be alive, ruling the Empire with them. Vaylin admitted she'd like having Thexan back, but then shrugged off the nostalgia. She then reminded Arcann that their father now favored the Outlander and planned on taking everything from Arcann. Her brother vowed to die before that happened.

### Anarchy in Paradise

Vaylin later scouted five separate systems in search of the Outlander and the *Gravestone* to no avail. After returning to her brother to report her failure, Arcann ordered her to destroy one planet in each of the five systems, believing it would loosen some tongues. Vaylin carried out her orders, recording holos of her handiwork, only to return to hear that the Outlander attacked in her absence. Faulting the Knights, Arcann ordered them to the dueling circle in pairs to fight to the death to further motivate them. Vaylin voiced her opinion that their hunt for the Outlander would be severely hampered with half their Knights dead. Arcann ignored her concerns and when she hesitated to carry out his command, he barked at her to proceed.

Vaylin later interrupted her brother's meditation session by telekinetically snatching his lightsaber, saying that his gloomy outlook was making her sad. Arcann confessed how frustrated he was that their own father wouldn't face him. Vaylin suggested that Valkorion was upset at his son for stealing his throne. Arcann reminded that their father was always emotionless, especially after Thexan's death, though Arcann hesitated to admit to himself that he did the deed. Vaylin nostalgically recalled how good Thexan was to her for bring his war spoils from the worlds he conquered. Her brother then reminded her that he freed her from Valkorion's control, to inquire if he still had her allegiance, to which she affirmed.

### The *Gilded Star* Raided

Vaylin later traveled to Vandin to check on the stealth treasury ship, the *Gilded Star* and was angered to learn that Senya had used her face to help the Alliance steal all of the Eternal Empire's galactic plunder from the vault. Upon her return to Zakuul, she began plotting her revenge against her mother, but Arcann interrupted her tirade by asking if she remembered Senya from when they were children. Vaylin bitterly stated her belief that her mother hated her for being more powerful and had to be controlled. She then asked what would happen if the rest of the galaxy learns of the heist and be inspired to revolution, Arcann assured her that their riches would be replaced and fear would keep the galaxy in line.

### Battle of Darvannis

Vaylin later observed alongside her brother the Mandalorians assault their factory on Darvannis. She then advised sending the Eternal Fleet to annihilate the Mandalorians, but Arcann was confident in the factory's ability to defend itself. However, as the battle on Darvannis progressed, the Mandalorians were gaining the advantage with almost no casualties. Remarking that the Mandalorian seemed inspired by a cause they could believe in, Arcann realized the Outlander was on Darvannis and was about to send the Fleet before Vaylin reminded him that their ships would not make it in time and admonished him for not taking her earlier advice. Realizing that he had sat on his throne for too long, Arcann ordered his flagship readied so they could hunt the Outlander.

### The GEMINI Deception

Vaylin later judged the Knight responsible for the Darvannis and was about to execute her before Arcann informed her that the Outlander and Senya were attempting to take one of their ships; Vaylin blasted the incompetent Knight off the dais regardless. Taking a large detachment of the Eternal Fleet, they attempted to intercept the *Gravestone* but their enemies managed to slip through their fingers once again. Subsequently, Vaylin noted that all Eternal Fleet ships outside their current sector were not responding to their orders after SCORPIO took the Eternal Throne, but Arcann declared it irrelevant, vowing to deal with the Fleet after they finish off the Outlander and Valkorion.

### Empress Vaylin

"*Will you and your children stay?"*
*"Of course. There is much I can teach you. We can start with how to destroy our enemies.*"
―Vaylin assumes the Eternal Throne, with the support of SCORPIO
During the Battle of Odessen, Vaylin entered the bridge of the Eternal Flagship after the Outlander had nearly killed Arcann, only to find Senya there pulling him out of the wreckage. Senya, who had come to save her children from a cruel end, offered Vaylin a chance to come with her and escape the fighting. Vaylin refused, calling her mother weak and accusing her of abandoning her children, and moved to attack. However, moved by his mother's love for him, Arcann Force-pushed his sister away, leaving Vaylin feeling angry and betrayed. She was cut off from her mother and brother by collapsing debris, and somehow managed to escape the ship before it and its escort fleet were wiped out by the *Gravestone*.

Returning to Zakuul, Vaylin met with SCORPIO in the throne room, stating that while she could care less about an "uncomfortable chair", she felt she deserved its power more than her brother. SCORPIO seemed to find in Vaylin a kindred spirit - someone with great power and potential, hindered by "lesser" beings - and admitted that she had taken the Eternal Throne not to rule Zakuul, but to allow her "children", the GEMINI droids, to have free will, as she did. Vaylin was surprised that SCORPIO did not wish to control them, but agreed that it was better to have a choice. She assumed the throne as Empress of Zakuul, with SCORPIO remaining to help her destroy their enemies.

#### Massacre on Ord Mantell

Invasion of VossEditDuring her reign as Empress she destroyed several worlds in the search for her mother and brother, who both retreated into hiding from her. Eventually, she learned of several dissident Knights, terrified that Vaylin might disband or destroy their order, planning on meeting with Senya on Ord Mantell. Vaylin traveled to Ord Mantell and slaughtered the host of Knights before Senya arrived. She then made her presence known by igniting spilled rhydonium with Force lightning, before snatching her mother's lightsaber pike. Senya, using the Force, called a fallen Knight's lightsaber to her hand to defend herself. Vaylin fought viciously against her mother but Senya's combat experience and the empress's flawed techniques allowed Senya to hold her own. Senya once again tried to reason with her but Vaylin was singlemindedly driven to kill her and attempted to deliver a finishing blow, only to hit a Zakuul shuttle's damaged hyperdrive. Vaylin managed to shield herself and Senya from the resulting explosion with the Force, allowing Senya to escape. It remained unclear to Senya whether there was a part of her daughter that still cared for her or that she was a predator toying with her prey.

After Ord Mantell, Vaylin tracked Senya to Voss and invaded the planet, with her forces landing to capture the capital of Voss-Ka. Vaylin gleefully ordered the planet to be burnt to ashes, and the Eternal Fleet acted accordingly, destroying the Imperial District on the northern plateau and devastating much of the Alien Enclave. The Outlander and Lana Beniko arrived with the Alliance fleet to engage her forces, with the Outlander, Beniko, and Torian Cadera's Mandalorians venturing to the surface to aid Theron Shan and an uneasy alliance of Voss and Gormak. After rallying forces to support the Voss, the Outlander met up with Theron at the Tower of Prophecy, which acted as the base of operations on the ground. Holding back skytroopers, Knights, and Vaylin's personal executioners, the Horizon Guard, the Outlander received a desperate call from Senya at the Shrine of Healing, warning that skytroopers and other attackers were converging on the shrine, and pleading for the Outlander to help her heal Arcann. Arcann would make his escape aboard his shuttle, despite the Outlander's efforts to stop him.

Vaylin was infuriated when several Eternal Fleet ships, commanded by GEMINI units granted autonomy similar to SCORPIO's, fled the battle in fear rather than face the Outlander's unexpected reinforcements - in the form of Empress Acina and the Sith Empire.

#### Confrontation Aboard the *Gravestone*

"*Did you think I locked you away to punish you? No. You had to learn. You had to be...conditioned.*"
―Valkorion shuts down Vaylin aboard the *Gravestone*
Despite rumors of the Outlander's supposed assassination on Dromund Kaas (found to be a grab for power by former Republic Chancellor Leontyne Saresh), Vaylin could still feel Valkorion's presence, and even in spite of the chaos caused by the Outlander's apparent fate, Odessen was still too heavily defended. SCORPIO suggested that they instead capture the *Gravestone*; travelling aboard a transport ship, they faked a distress call to the *Gravestone*, allowing them to attack and capture it. But Koth had locked out the bridge controls, and - in order to prevent the ship from being captured - had also connected a quantum bomb to the ship's systems. Knowing that Koth's crew was the key to breaking the lockout, Vaylin tortured Len Parvek, Koth's second-in-command, and was able to use the information he gave her to retake control of the ship.

Afterward, Vaylin confronted the Outlander in the ship's "Dark Sanctuary" while Koth tried to disable the bomb. As she gained the upper hand, however, Valkorion manifested before her and held her back, telling her that he had had to contain her power (cage her like an animal, as Vaylin hatefully put it) because she had no discipline. Unfazed, Vaylin threatened to kill the Outlander regardless, at which point Valkorion commanded her to "kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul", leaving her powerless - and giving the Outlander another weapon to wield against her.

SCORPIO, as ever pursuing her own agenda, chose that moment to take control of the *Gravestone*, stating that she had found evidence that the ship, the GEMINIs, and even SCORPIO herself were all connected. Enraged at what she saw as yet another betrayal, Vaylin tried to attack SCORPIO, and received a shot to the shoulder from SCORPIO's blaster. By that point, it was too late: the Eternal Fleet went to lightspeed, followed shortly thereafter by the *Gravestone*, their courses unknown.

#### Iokath, and the Grand Festival

The *Gravestone* and the Eternal Fleet arrived on the machine-world of Iokath, created by the race that had originally constructed the ships, SCORPIO, and the GEMINIs. During their confrontation on the ship's bridge, the Outlander, Vaylin, and the entire crew were mysteriously teleported off the ship by a blinding wave of energy. Vaylin came to in a metal-walled cell, finding herself face to face with her dead brother Thexan. Despite the diversion, Vaylin knew that "Thexan" was a fake - a realistic holoprojection created by ARIES, Iokath's caretaker. Tearing open the walls of her cell, Vaylin was able to escape and join up with some of her forces from the *Gravestone*, as well as a number of GEMINI captains. She rallied her forces to retake control of the Eternal Fleet, despite all that ARIES threw at them to impede them.

Seeking to override the autonomy that SCORPIO implanted into the GEMINIs - which had brought their senses of self-preservation to the fore, to the point of questioning or outright ignoring her orders - Vaylin brought a damaged Purifier droid, one of ARIES' footsoldiers, aboard one of the Eternal Fleet ships, and plugged it into the ship's mainframe to reset the GEMINI captain to its default condition. The ship escaped from Iokath and returned to Zakuul, where Vaylin uplinked the droid to the Eternal Throne, resetting the GEMINI captains in the entire fleet back to their default settings; as a demonstration, she ordered one ship in the fleet to destroy another, which it did without hesitation.

Following the resumption of her control over the Eternal Fleet, Vaylin held a grand festival at the Palace of the Eternal Dragon, as a display of her glory and as a means of executing a number of rebels against her rule in public arena fights with captured beasts. With the event being publicly broadcast all over the Eternal Empire, the Outlander and Theron Shan - aided by Zakuulan socialite and rebel leader Indo Zal - infiltrated the party disguised as Knights of Zakuul, planting ion charges in the power relays of the palace in order to disable the rebels' shock collars. When the "main event" was to begin, the Outlander and Theron publicly revealed themselves, with the Outlander activating Vaylin's conditioning in full view of witnesses, and detonating the ion charges, freeing the prisoners. Despite a confrontation with Arcann on the skydeck of the palace, Vaylin escaped, leaving Zakuul in a state of chaos between her supporters and those who had risen up in rebellion.

#### Return to Nathema

Wanting to break the mental cage that dampened her powers, Vaylin returned to Nathema, having spoken with the Anomid chief scientist Jarak about breaking Valkorion's conditioning. She arrived at the Sanitarium, where the machinery was prepared for the work. The Outlander and Lana Beniko gave chase, making their way through the mostly-ruined laboratories of the lower levels, fighting off the Anomid scientists, their Abyssin keepers, and the Nathema Zealots who guarded the facility. By the time they reached the main labs, they were too late; Vaylin was free of the conditioning, and escaped to her flagship. Now in full control of her powers, Vaylin overloaded the Sanitarium's reactors, ensuring that "nothing would be left on Nathema but dust and ash". She then set out for Odessen with the entire Eternal Fleet, to put an end to the Alliance for good.

### Downfall

"*The Eternal Throne is mine!*"
―Vaylin's last words
Vaylin's attack came at an inauspicious moment for the Alliance; the upgrades to the *Gravestone* recovered from Iokath had yet to be installed, and the Alliance's ground forces were outnumbered by the overwhelming force of Vaylin's legions, far more than that had been used during Arcann's attack a year earlier. The Outlander and Beniko landed on the surface and fought their way through lines of soldiers, walkers, and gun emplacements to reach the *Gravestone*, before continuing on into the base itself. Vaylin had captured one of the Outlander's allies, and was holding them hostage when the Outlander at last arrived to confront her. In a gesture of contempt, Vaylin threw her prisoner to the ground, then reached out with the Force to snap the unfortunate fighter's neck, killing them instantly. Even with Valkorion's power, the Outlander was outmatched by Vaylin's full power, which began to crack the walls of the Alliance base itself as she battled against her foe. Despite this, the Outlander was able to strike the mortal blow and end the duel. Upon Vaylin's death, the remaining Zakuulan forces surrendered; the Eternal Fleet, however, went rampant, attacking the Republic capital of Coruscant, the Imperial capital of Dromund Kaas, and Zakuul itself with equal abandon, upholding its original programming from Iokath: extermination.

Even in death, Vaylin would prove to be formidable; upon taking the Eternal Throne and pacifying the fleet, the Outlander became embroiled in a war of the mind as Valkorion attempted to take control of his host's body and return to power. The Outlander had consumed the spirit of Vaylin after killing her, and Valkorion commanded her to destroy the Outlander. Fully enthralled by her father, Vaylin had no choice but to obey. The Outlander managed to defeat her but Valkorion easily resurrected her. However, the Outlander gained the upper hand and broke Valkorion's hold over her with the aid of a holocron recovered from her father's vault. Finally free, Vaylin's spirit fought alongside her former foe and Arcann against Valkorion. Together, the trio fought against Valkorion, but the Immortal Emperor gained the upper hand by destroying the holocron and incapacitated the trio. When it seemed all was lost, the Outlander played one last trump card: using Vaylin's trigger phrase, and due to the fact that they're in the Outlander's own mind, Valkorion himself was incapacitated. Vaylin took pleasure in using her own trigger phrase against her father. As Senya joined the battle, Vaylin and Arcann forced Valkorion to his knees, allowing the Outlander to destroy the "Immortal Emperor" once and for all.

## Personality and traits

"*Vaylin was always my favorite.*"
―Valkorion
Since childhood, Vaylin had been deeply troubled. In one instance, she crippled a guard for dropping a ball she tossed. Instead of actually addressing the problem, Valkorion's only solution was to cage her mind and her powers, locking away most of who she was. Following the death of Valkorion's physical form, her mind was freed from his control. Instead of striking back, however, she decided to bide her time, like a predator studying her prey. As she ruled the Eternal Empire alongside Arcann, Vaylin had become more cruel. She was willing to risk the lives of thousands of Zakuul's citizens to capture the Outlander, and executed Knights for the slightest mistakes and casually killed more for dislike of odd numbers. Her unstable outlook made Arcann wary of upsetting her. Nonetheless, she was close to her brother as they both detested the idea of destiny and seemed to resent their father for holding them back.

In spite of her overall instability, however, Vaylin had a streak of pragmatism. Notably, she objected to Arcann's order to have all the Knights duel each other to the death, pointing out that killing half their elite force would reduce their ability to deal with the Outlander. Arcann's rebuttal of her opinion led to a rare reversal of their usual positions, with Vaylin being wary of Arcann's temper for a change.