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"You are Mandalorian. You bow to no one."
Corden Vencu
[fancybox4="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j282/Deseli/Spar.jpg"]NAME: Corden Vencu
ALIAS: Cord'ika, Cor
AGE: 32
SPECIES: Human
HEIGHT: 1.854 m (6 ft, 1 in)
WEIGHT: 85.275 kg (188 lbs)
AFFILIATIONS: Clan Vencu, Te Atiniiryc Kisol (The Enduring Few)
Intense, and in most cases brutal, training that began in his early childhood years and continued well into his young adulthood gave Corden a powerful, lean, muscular build which he has maintained thus far with an active lifestyle and continuous exercise.
Other than small scars, burns, and calluses that are a common sight on any warrior of Corden's years, several scars of note line his back, each parallel to the other and running from his right shoulder down to the lower left portion of his back (souvenirs from his rite of passage).
Corden has fierce green eyes and brown hair, which he prefers short and trimmed. His skin is white, but surprisingly enough, not incredibly pale considering his continual use of full body armor. His complexion can be attributed to long days under the blistering sun both training and farming on his homeworld of Mandalore.
Taught to never accept defeat, to never quit, and to never leave a fallen comrade, Corden is fiercely loyal to those he considers friends and family. Never giving in, Corden's exceedingly relentless nature and strong will have produced a reliable warrior who can easily remain calm, collected, and steadfast during times of adversity.[/fancybox4]
"There is little difference between the Jedi and Sith, at least in my book. They're pompous warrior monks that fancy themselves the protectors and saviors of the galaxy, or in the case of the Sith, the destroyers and divine rulers of it. The only real difference is, the Jedi pretend to care about what is right and wrong. The Sith have abandoned most of those pretenses."
~ Kartin Fen, instructing a young Corden Vencu ~
~ Kartin Fen, instructing a young Corden Vencu ~
BIOGRAPHY
Corden's father, Kad, was a skilled metal worker, forging both armor and sabers for the war effort and offering custom pieces on the side, when time permitted. With a stable income and a farm, Kad Vencu took Cadil Sorn as his wife. Two children were soon to follow, a daughter, Saris, and a son, Corden.
After his wife became seriously ill many years later, the eldest of the children, Kad's daughter, left the homestead early in her youth. Joining a band of Mandalorian mercenaries rather than serve as others in her clan had for generations, the promise of glory and fortune burning in her fierce green eyes, Saris Vencu dawned the striking green beskar'gam her father had made for her just a year prior and set out. Cadil's illness took a turn for the worse and she passed into the manda later that year.
The years dragged on, Kad and his son eventually withdrawing from their fields and concentrating solely on the family forge, all the while hearing little to nothing from Saris. Kad continued to teach his son how to fight and survive and of their duty to Mandalore and their people as a whole.
The training Corden received from his father was intense and extensive, occupying most of the time the young boy didn't spend tending the forge or tinkering with new and exotic weaponry and armor systems. Though he loved his son, Kad never tolerated weakness, nor did he show any outward displays of affection. Many times the boy was driven to the very brink of death, but always he pulled through in the hopes that he would gain the approval of his father. Such approval came only rarely and often at great cost, but to a young boy with no other family and seldom a moment to socialize or explore as many his age did, it meant the world.
Shortly after Corden turned eleven, a set of jade colored armor was delivered to their doorstep by a young, weathered Mandalorian male who claimed he and Saris had married two years before and had told him to deliver the armor to the farm in the event of her death. Without a word more, the young warrior left the Vencu homestead, declining Kad's invitation to stay for a while with a weary shake of his head.
When Corden came of age, he underwent his verd'goten, the traditional Mandalorian rite of passage. Much like the training he had received as a child, it pushed him beyond his limits physically, mentally, and emotionally. Corden never held it against his father, knowing full well that it was the tremendous loss his clan had faced that fueled his father's obsession; an obsession that soon became his own. After nearly a standard month of pain and constant hardship, Corden was finally confronted by his tormentor and declared a true Mando'ad; a son of Mandalore. As a reward, Kad gave his son a set of newly forged armor plates, a helmet, and a custom bodysuit. The bodysuit was a dark, polished black that was cool to the touch and seemingly impossible to tear or cut.
Enlisting at thirteen, Corden went on to serve for six consecutive years with the planetary defense forces, which were considered little more than auxiliaries to the Republic contingent his unit augmented. The young age of many Mandalorian auxiliaries had initially been a point of contention with the Republic, but with Sith incursions increasing in size and frequency, it was something Republic military officials had long since decided to conveniently overlook.
At nineteen, having achieved the rank of sergeant and participated in numerous engagements that had taken him from the planet surface, to orbit, to nearby systems and even on small forays across the border into hostile territory, Corden left active service upon receiving news of his father's death in a recent Sith incursion on Mandalore. Questioning the purpose of his six years of service, the cost in Mandalorian lives, and the effectiveness of their so-called defense forces, Corden collected his father's armor, saw to it that the farm and the forge were looked after by what few remaining relatives he possessed, and set out to discover if the nomadic life that many Mandalorians chose was any more worthwhile.
In his travels, Corden would eventually meet Kartin Fen, an old veteran of multiple wars, small conflicts, and hundreds of successfully completed bounty contracts. Corden dedicated himself to more intense training under the veteran Mandalorian's tutelage, his marksmanship, endurance, and even his social skills improving drastically.
Kartin, a close quarters expert above all else, taught Corden the art of what he called violence of action. His lessons in melee combat included everything from fists, clubs, and spears to beskar sabers and even the handling of a lightsaber and other exotic weapons. It wasn't about the weaponry so much as striking hard and fast and leaving your enemy no room for retaliation.
Kartin used every spare moment to instruct his student in not only the art of war, but quite a few commonly used languages throughout the galaxy. A quick learner, Corden took to each of the languages as if they were his first through continual practice and interaction with countless different species.
As he and Kartin visited planets like Corellia, Ord Mantell, Muunilinst, Anaxes, Commenor, and Kuat, they took increasingly higher profile contracts. Some contracts were simple hunt and capture missions, while others were more complex assassinations, infiltrations, and extractions. All the while, Corden continued to train under Kartin's close watch, becoming more than just a valued asset to their numerous clients, but also a better, more efficient operator.
It wasn't long before both men found themselves back on their home planet fighting alongside a unit of other like-minded Mandalorians, not for profit, but for their people and their world. Battles were won, some lost, and time flew by quickly in the years that followed, the band occasionally joining with other organized units and militia groups for various and sometimes unsanctioned campaigns against the Sith.
Numerous battles resulted in a strong bond between Corden, Kartin, and the original band of Mandalorians they had joined. During one fierce battle, Corden assumed command at the sudden death of the campaign commander without hesitation, knowing full well that without a swift recovery, the current battle would be lost. He began issuing orders, leading his vode forward. Not one Mandalorian challenged him or his orders and after long, bloody months of fighting, they won a decisive victory on the obscure border world and with it, a new leader.
Four months before Corden turned twenty-five, he and Kartin parted ways. Corden met Kartin again on several different occasions over the next few years, always briefly. Eventually, the old Mandalorian passed into the manda on some distant world, though news of his death reached Corden almost two years after the fact. By that time, Corden had risen within the ranks to be accepted as more than just the acting captain of their unit, having been in command during the capture or destruction of numerous remote outposts and enemy military facilities. He later named his band of supercommandos Te Atiniiryc Kisol, which translated to The Enduring Few in Basic.
The years that followed saw Te Atiniiryc Kisol and its captain serving alongside other like-minded militia groups, often coordinating with the planetary defense forces to ensure the success of larger scale operations in and around the sector. More often than not, territory fought over and gained was either far too remote to be of any tactical or strategic significance, freely given to the Republic as their due, or lost just as quickly to Sith counter attack.
Mandalore was wedged between two warring behemoths and even his father and grandfathers had never witnessed a significant shift in that dynamic when they had been young men. Mandalorians, like so many others living on the border, had become used to being pawns and victims of the war between Light and Dark.
Corden could see the growing discontent among not just his own warriors, but many of his people. They needed to see real progress. They could no longer afford to be a stepping stone or gateway to one side or the other. They needed a sense of identity and pride; they needed victory. If the current Mand'alor could not give that to them, Corden decided that he would.
[/fancybox2]
"Following a strict rank system is just an excuse for inept leaders to wave around pretty titles and pretend they matter. Actions are what make a warrior and chain of command is there to provide a smooth succession if the poor chakaar ahead of you goes down."
~ Kartin Fen, instructing a young Corden Vencu ~
~ Kartin Fen, instructing a young Corden Vencu ~
POSSESSIONS
[fancybox4="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j282/Deseli/kevaracustom.png"] UNDER CONSTRUCTION...[/fancybox4]
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