LL In-Story Codex

[The Lionheart]

The following is a Codex topic for characters and concepts (such as technology, locations, etc.) that I introduce during the course of the Hutt War roleplay. I decided not to place it in Story OOC, but rather here, because I felt this was where it was most fitting.

This is an informational topic. It shall cover the concepts that I introduce that may have a profound impact on my characters' stories, and which may, therefore, have an impact of some sort on other players' characters. In some instances, I've been allowed the privelege of playing with little-explored areas or ideas, and they shall be granted entries in the Codex, as well.

This is not a discussion or conversation topic. I must ask that any unrelated chatter be left elsewhere, and, also, that you refrain from criticizing or commenting on the works placed here until a critique topic is put in place in the General Discussion board. That, OR, you may PM me with comments and criticisms.

Thus, without further ado...

CODEX​

The Hutt War​

'Mist'
Hallucinogenic Substance​

First manufactured in 12,960 BBY, 'Mist' was an hallucinogenic substance that gained widespread popularity throughout darker circles by 12,976. The Mist 'boom' that occured just prior to the outbreak of the Hutt War resulted in a massive increase in criminal activity. Factions sprung up around the manufacture and sale of the drug almost daily on various worlds, and its effects were often used to place workers into a stupor from which many would never recover.​

Mist worked on the central and peripheral nervous systems of the body, first dimming the senses, and then creating perceived sensations of its own. Hallucinations were induced in a matter of minutes after taking the first 'hit', and could last for hours, or even days, depending on the mind's own fortitude. It produced an overwhelming sense of euphoria, and heightened the body's natural sex drive. As such, Mist became the most prevalent 'club drug' in both Hutt and Republic space.​

Side-effects of infrequent, mild use were generally containable, usually involving hiccups in brain function, general anxiety, and loss of short-term memory. These side-effects usually disappeared within a week. However, prolonged use of the drug had disastrous consequences to the untrained mind: psychosis, necrosis of brain tissue, severe nerve damage and pain, loss of bodily functions and senses, and cerebral brain hemorrhage. Mortalities due to Mist addiction tripled after the Hutt War's onset, as many in space wished to escape the worries of another prolonged galactic conflict - and, of course, military service.​

Non Force-sensitives usually suffered the worst effects. Force-sensitives, however, were shown to have developed a natural resistance to Mist's effects due to their mental fortitude and conditioning. Many Force adepts suffered different symptoms, but all seemed to follow a general pattern after prolonged exposure to the drug: decreased mental acuity, psychosis, and deadened self-perception. Cults of Dark Jedi (not akin to the Bogan) often used the drug to keep their ranks under control, and entirely adherent to their leader's message. They manipulated the hallucinations in order to induce nightmares which would further reinforce their members' beliefs that they required the cult to survive, and to engender hatred toward other established powers.​

Mist was generally manufactured into small crystals. In order to be consumed, the crystals would be placed into an incubator which would slowly heat them until they met the melting point. The liquid form of the drug would then slowly begin to evaporate, and the vapors would be drawn into a tube - the top of which would be closed off. The 'lid' would then be opened, and a person would take a 'hit', usually through the mouth. The vapors would be inhaled, and then exhaled slowly. The general belief was that the longer the Mist was held in one's lungs, the better the euphoria and possible hallucinations would be.​

Atzerri
Planet​

During the Hutt War, many star systems were experiencing upheavals in civic and domestic structure, as a new kind of industrial revolution swept through space. A dark example of the revolution's effects was the planet Atzerri. Before the Hutt War, Atzerri was best described as a trade world, processing goods from surrounding systems to be shipped deeper into Republic space. The planet traditionally maintained a limited government presence, and lax regulation on imports and exports.​

However, by 12,970, this began to work against the trade world's structural integrity. As Atzerri's cities tried to build hastily upward, they began to neglect the ground floor. Pollution from industrial manufacturing exponentially increased, and soon, sickness and crime were everywhere. By 12,977, Atzerri had become a crime world. The industrial upheaval continued, and so, too, did the degeneration of Atzerri society. Citizens fought to maintain themselves in the high towers of Talos and other urbanized zones, while those less fortunate were often forced onto the streets in droves.​

Gangs, mobs, and other seedy elements ruled the ground level of Atzerri, and warfare between factions became a common affair. It was for this reason that Talos soon became the center of a resurgent Private Military Industry, as many with money and power required muscle to both protect their interests, and expand them. Ex-soldiers, mercenaries, prize fighters and entrepeneurs of carnage all flocked to the world to benefit from incentives and an almost null government presence.​

Talos and surrounding sectors soon became a warzone on the ground, various mercenary factions and more established powers on Atzerri immediately going for each other's necks to determine who could reign supreme. A majority share in the industrial sectors ensured a majority gain in the wealth, and all comers desired the money that was pouring into Talos' industrial districts daily. The Private Military Contractors used the chaos to train and refresh recruits and veterans, alike.​

Eventually, the initial bout of firefights ceased. The various factions of Atzerri recognized each-other's strengths, and, though they came to no terms with one-another, they decided to allow their grievances and desires to wait for another time. Firefights still broke out with alarming regularity in the streets of Lower Talos, but full-scale warfare was restrained to the outer city limits, where the planet's rapidly degenerating environment could serve as a proving ground for recruits and young comers.​

Atzerri's cityscapes were a mess of metal and jagged frames, as they constantly strived to build further and further upward. Ships had to take care to avoid the rough edges of low-lying buildings and ongoing construction projects, and speeders were almost a null presence due to the claustrophobic proximity of Atzerri's buildings. All travel was conducted either between the buildings through causeways on the far upper floors, or on the gang and grime-ridden streets seemingly miles beneath them.​

It is unlikely that Atzerri shall find the peace it needs to correct itself in the near future - certainly not while the Republic is gripped in the fires of war.​

Dariim Varis
Exiled Jedi Master​

A legendary duelist and master-at-arms, Dariim Varis was a respected Jedi Master during the days of the Alsakan Crisis and beyond. He was known as a philosopher and idealist, and his ideas did not always fall into line with the beliefs of the Jedi Council. The Council, in fact, frowned heavily on Master Varis' insistence that the younger Jedi initiates should be trained as fighters before philosophers, to prepare for 'a coming storm'. His vague warnings and divinations did not earn the veteran swordsman any favor with the ruling caste of Jedi, and he promptly chose exile after the blockade of Coruscant was broken.​

Varis began wandering the galaxy, exploring various primitive societies and cultures. He expanded his already vast knowledge of combat and swordplay, reinforcing his role as one of the most talented warriors of his era. He aided who he could, and did favors where he felt necessary as he learned and conversed with the denizens of various little-known worlds. His skills as a diplomat and orator were enhanced, and soon, he believed, his understanding of the 'way of things' was improved, as well.​

This understanding apparently changed Varis, who then dispelled any notion of returning to the Jedi Order. Instead, he struck out on his own, beginning a run of vigilante justice and agitation throughout the Y'toub system in Hutt space. His run of blades was ended on Nar Shaddaa, where he gathered a band of followers from ex-Republic soldiers who had been abandoned in Y'toub after their service was done, and went to work picking apart the lower echelons of the Hutt chain of command above Nal Hutta. He had intended to 'work his way up', but he soon hit a wall in his plans when he was cornered by Rohl Keere on the smuggler's moon.​

After the incident on Nar Shaddaa, it is unclear what Dariim Varis aspired toward. He halted his vigilante work, allowing the surviving soldiers whom had aligned with him to return home to their families at long last. It was leaked that Varis had traveled throughout the Rims, eventually coming to Iktotch to visit his former friend, another exiled Jedi Master by the name of Von Ameda. When nearby Hutt elements converged on Ameda's native village, Varis left Ameda with one of his many blades, and departed into the sunset.​