House of Kira

## Royal House of Kira

The Flag of Onderon

The **House of Kira** is the current Royal House of Onderon. They originated as a family of Beast Riders in the wilderness of Onderon after they and other dissidents were expelled from the city of Iziz by King Freedon Nadd in 4400 BBY. After the conclusion of the Beast Wars in 4000 BBY, Oron Kira married Queen Galia Nadd and turned the Kiras into the planet's royal family. They lost that position centuries later after the Galactic Cold War, when the planet became an elective monarchy, but regained it after the Galactic Empire's occupation of Onderon was ended by King Modon Kira.

## History

### Old Republic Era

In 4400 BBY when the Dark Lord of the Sith, Freedon Nadd, assumed the throne of Onderon from the walled city of Iziz he started his Naddist Sith Cult and began corrupting the populace. Dissidents against the Naddist rule were cast out from the city. The Naddists had hoped the dissidents would be devoured by the vicious beasts in the Onderon wilderness that had migrated over an oxygen bridge from the moon of Dxun. However, the Naddists were proven wrong. Over time, the outcasts succeeded in taming the beasts, using them as winged war mounts for their campaigns against the walled city of the Iziz army. They managed to establish themselves as powerful Beast Riders, with great armies of vicious creatures at their command known as the Drexl. The House of Kira was among these first Beast Riders. The Beast-Lord Kinch Sunka led the first attack on Iziz, the capital of Onderon, leading the planet into a permanent war.

The Beast Wars, as they were called, came to an end in 4000 BBY with the intervention of the Jedi Order who discovered the Dark Side corruption on the planet. With the help of the Beast Riders, then under the leadership of Beast-Lord Modon Kira, the Naddist monarchy was overthrown. Modon's son, Odon Kira married the Princess Galia Nadd, uniting the two bloodlines and bringing the Kiras onto the throne of the Onderon.

The Kira would hold onto power well enough until their first major crisis in the era of the Mandalorian Wars in 3996 BBY. The Mandalorians attempted to conquer the planet, but were held back and instead just conquered Dxun. During those wars the General Vaklu Kira who belonged to the junior branch of the House rose to prominence and would eventually attempt a coup against his cousin Queen Talia Kira. Vaklu allied himself with Darth Nihilus of the Sith Triumvirate. In exchange for the Sith forces, Vaklu let the Sith visit Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun. His coup failed with the intervention of the Jedi Exile, Meetra Surik, who turned the tide of the war with the help of Mandalor the Preserver and his forces. Vaklu was executed for treason and Queen Talia remained in power.

Later in the Cold War Era, Queen Lina Kira was the ruler of Onderon. She was succeeded by her son Regalun Petryph. While he could've taken the name of his mother, his poor relationship caused by his anti-Republican sentiments led him to identify with his father's house and nominally ending the centuries long rule of House Kira. In his greed Regalun attempted to make alternate trade deals outside of Republic statutes and strip-mine Onderon's resources to fill his coffers. This led to major opposition from Republic loyalists, led by Senator Deja Nebet, and the Council of Lords. Around 3627 BBY, King Regalun was forced to retreat from Iziz to avoid the opposition as the planet was set into a crisis. Regalun was approached by Darth Savik of the Dark Council. She forged an alliance between him and the Sith, manipulating him into giving her the opportunity to destroy the Republic fleet in orbit of the planet. Regalun's Kira cousins, Anoser and Anosek, were assassinated by the Sith but blamed on the Council. This successfully got Regalun to attack the city and create the distraction that Savik needed. Darth Savik, however, was defeated by the Republic and they subsequently arrested Regalun for treason.

Following Regalun's deposition and the deaths of his next closest kin, the Council of Lords decided to elect a monarch among themselves as by then they all had some royal blood in their Houses. The House of Kira did survive, though they returned to their Beast Rider roots and retreated to their Fortress in the wilderness. Through the next millennia the throne passed between several houses while the House of Kira was all but forgotten.

### Return to Royalty

The Kiras remained out of the politics of Iziz and the rest of Onderon for millennia until the reign of the Galactic Empire of Palpatine. The Imperial regime was the harshest rule on the world since the reign of the Naddists and this spurred on a new Beast Rider rebellion. The Beast Rider rebels were led by Modon Kira, who pressed his House's ancient claim on the throne. He led attacks against Imperial military facilities on the world and harassed any patrols leaving the safety of Iziz, but he was unable to take the city due to the Empire's strong military presence. Modon would eventually ally and befriend Han Solo and Leia Organa, culminating in them seeking refuge among the Kiras from the reborn Emperor Palpatine. It was in the Kira Fortress that Palpatine was killed for a second time by the Jedi, this time for good. Following this in 11 ABY, Modon Kira was finally able to take Iziz from the fleeing Imperial forces and returned to the city as its new King, restoring the ancient Kira line to the throne.

The Kiras reestablished their hereditary monarchy. Due to the popularity of King Modon because of his opposition to the Empire and role in killing Emperor Palpatine, the Kiras were not opposed by the Iziz nobles whom had shared the rule of the planet among themselves for the millennia while the Kiras returned to their Beast Rider roots. King Modon's reign was well remembered and among his many achievements was the establishment of the Royal Riders from his Beast Rider supporters and Onderon's joining of the New Republic.

With the Kiras in power, Onderon remained an ally of the New Republic's successor states - the Galactic Alliance, the Alliance Remnant and later the Galactic Federation Triumvirate. However, the role that Onderon played in the wars that followed the fall of the Galactic Empire was inconsequential. They were briefly conquered by Darth Krayt's One Sith prior to the establishment of the Galactic Federation Triumvirate and used as a recruitment world for the Sith forces, though not by choice. In those harsh times the Kiras managed to retain control of the world for centuries.

King Ammon Kira ruled in the decades of the 800s ABY. He was well remembered but his reign was marked by the rivalry of his twin sons: Ophris and Setek. Ophris had been born a few moments before his brother so was the legal heir of Onderon, but the position was not as secure as Setek saw himself as the rightful ruler and did all in his power to make himself appear the better candidate. He excelled in everything that he and his brother competed in and had won many supporters among the noble families. However, King Ammon maintained that Ophris was his heir. Once Ammon died and Ophris took the throne, many anxiously waited for Setek to make his move and attempt a coup, but it never came. Ophris proved himself a popular ruler with the people and that led the nobles to fear popular intervention should a coup occur. Without the backing of his supposed allies, Setek was unable to assert his claim and was forced to accept his brother's rule. The brothers never reconciled and the animosity between them carried onto their children: Queen Amora and Montu Kira.

Queen Amora was the most popular ruler of Onderon in recent memory. Her reign in the 900s ABY is fondly remembered by all citizens of Onderon. Her funeral was a massive event that drew huge crowds from not only Onderon but other nearby systems to witness the procession of her casket to the Halls of the Spirits where she was buried.

In 996 ABY, King Asaris Kira agreed to an alliance with Emperor Tragus Fel II of the Fel Empire which was organized by Baron Reyne of the Imperial Diplomatic Service. The alliance was sealed with the marriage of Crown Prince Gallinus Fel and Princess Dalia Kira. One of the conditions of the alliance was that the Empire provide artificial lightsaber crystals to the Kira's palace guards. In return, Onderon agreed to support the Empire in the Galactic Senate and give them access to ruins on Dxun. King Asaris' popularity was at an all time low due to his poor relationship with his son and heir Anapay and the lecherous behavior of his second son Herun. With the backing of the Empire he sought to strengthen his rule.

### Galactic Legends

In 1004 BBY, the Iziz Royal Palace was attacked while the Kira royals were gathered to celebrate the birth of Princess Dalia's son and the reconciliation of Prince Anapay with his father. The attack resulted in the deaths of King Asaris, Queen Iseta and the Princes Anapay and Herun. Princess Dalia escaped the attack with her son due to the intervention of a third party and the help of her Imperial Knights escort, including Knight Uhvie Kerada-Pasiq.

## Notable Members

* Asaris Kira: King of Onderon. A decent king, but a bad father. His reign has not seen the smoothest but he is not hated by his people. He lives in the shadow of his much more beloved mother. He married his daughter off to the Prince of the Fel Empire to strengthen his position.
* Anapay Kira: First son and heir of King Asaris. A wild child in his youth, he spent much of his time in the wilderness and among the smaller settlements of Onderon. It was said his Beast Rider blood ran strong in him. For this he was estranged with his parents and lived away from the city of Iziz for a long time. Recently returned to patch things up with his father.
* Herun Kira: Second son of King Asaris. Currently engaged to the daughter of Lady Meresa Hut, but the wedding has been held off due to Prince Herun's debaucharous behavior for many years. He is seen as a black sheep of the family.
* Dalia Kira: Princess of Onderon and wife of Imperial Prince Gallinus of the Fel Dynasty.
* Nita Kira: CEO of Iziz Trading Company and wife of Lord Ramessu Sutekh. Cousin to King Asaris.

## Trivia

* The current members of House Kira are named after Egyptian gods:
	+ Asaris is named after Osiris, god of the dead and the judge of the underworld, who's Egyptian name was Asar.
	+ Iseta is named after Isis, goddess of sky and nature and wife of Osiris, who's Egyptian name was Iset.
	+ Anapay is named after Anubis, god who leds the dead to the underworld and son of Osiris and Nephthys, who's Egyptian name was Anapa.
	+ Herun is named after Horus, god of light and son of Osiris and Isis, who's Egyptian name was Heru.