MOTTO: From the Shadows, We Strike Our Enemies. Into the Shadows, Our Enemies Fall.

Introduction

Standing at the peak of the Tower of Shadows, Dark Jedi of Clan Arcona have watched stars wheel through the sky, marking time as perfectly as it does quietly. Stars are always quiet; it is the actions of those who mark them that have truly shaken history. Yet the story of Arcona is as much a tale of the power of celestial powers as it is a tale of glory, betrayal, and reconstruction.

The very nature of the Coronada system…comprised of two inhabitable planets Delphinia, with its moons Nesh, Yorsh and Trosh, and Phoenicia with its moon Tangria….has shaped the Clan far more than most can understand. On a standard holo-map Coronada borders with the Aurora System which suggests a proximity to power. Yet nothing is as it seems in Coronada. Eons ago a giant star met its demise in a blinding flash of glory. Nothing unusual in that except its companions, seemingly in a mournful salute to their fallen comrade, also exploded. The result was a vast rift in time and space; ruling out any hope of hyperspace travel in or out of the Coronada system. Over the ensuing millennia countless exploratory flights were made and countless ships lost before one route was discovered. There remains only one way in or out of the Coronada system and its coordinates have been the most closely guarded of all Arcona secrets. This sense of isolation, as well as the dangers in traveling through the sector have shaped and reshaped Arcona history in unimaginable ways.

Ascension and Fall

During the first reign of Grand Master Justinian Khyron, a Dark Jedi House was formed in the Coronada system. The House was named Arcona and its first leader was Sith Warrior Donitz. Donitz however never made it to the day to see his House fully established as the day before the Grand Master was to give his official approval and blessing, he disappeared into the nothingness of Space, never to be seen again. Instead of him, Krath Pontifex Gilkane was instated into the position of Quaestor, aided by Obelisk Warrior Dreadnaught. Arcona was blessed with a large amount of talent and immediately seized Right of Supremacy among all Houses in the next vendetta.

After the Vendetta, Pontifex Gilkane resigned to go into the wilderness and work on his own Force understanding and Dreadnaught was called upon to establish a new House's presence elsewhere. So the leadership of Arcona fell to Krath Priestess Lioness. Lioness was eager and talented, but she had ideas not in accordance with what the Dark Council expected and was in the end forced to resign her leadership. No replacement was appointed and House Arcona began to crumble.

Nighthawk and the new Arcona

It was several months later that a young and loyal Jedi Hunter named Nighthawk approached the Dark Council with the request for permission to rebuild the presence that had once been House Arcona. He had the support of Lioness' former Aedile, Warrior Shark, and together they began a steady process of growth. In less than a year, what had been a dead House was a flourishing assembly of 70 Dark Jedi of all ranks and so it was decided to expand Arcona into a Clan. Two new Houses were formed, House Galeres and House Qel-Droma. Sith Warrior Shark was the first Quaestor of House Qel-Droma while Nighthawk was now Consul of Arcona.

Oriens Obscurum and the Reordering

While Arcona was prospering, a neighboring Clan, Scholae Palatinae, was doing far less well. They had deteriorated to a point where barely more than a single House's worth of Jedi left and thus it was decided to downgrade the Clan to a House, called Oriens Obscurum and give this House to Clan Arcona. Many talented members, especially veteran Sith called this House their home and it became to be a great asset to the Clan. Then came the day when Grand Master Khyron ordered the most massive restructuring of the Brotherhood ever. No longer were Houses to have members of all three orders but they were to concentrate their powers on one order and its abilities, with a Clan having one Krath House, one Sith House and one Obelisk House. Galeres had traditionally been strong with Obelisk members and had DJM Blazer, a former CoG as their Quaestor, so it was natural for them to become the Obelisk House. Qel-Droma was as natural a choice for Krath given their namesake, so Oriens Obscurum became Sith. Archpriest Gavron became the first Quaestor of the restructured House Qel-Droma.

The Shadow Clan

The Clan rose to greater and greater glory, winning conquests as well as spoils of war. During its zenith, Arcona gained a truly magnificent weapon to bear on its enemies. An Arconan, whose name has been lost in the depths of history, found a tome buried deep beneath the Tower of Shadows. After translating the ancient tome, the young Dark Jedi unleashed the power of the Abyss, a source of terrible darkness. The members of Arcona began to practice the arts of the Abyss, becoming more and more powerful in their quests for glory and conquest. It remained a rule that the arts of the Abyss should be taught only to members of Arcona, preserving its secrets and retaining Arcona's power. And so… the powers of shadow were practiced in secret. Dark Jedi of Arcona learned to manipulate the shadows into terrible forms and potent weapons; and even able to enter the world of the Abyss itself. That’s the time when the members of Arcona were first called Lords of the Shadows.

Lord Thedek: Grand Master

These incidents fell just before Grand Master Khyron retired. In his place, Lord Thedek was appointed Grand Master. As a result of his ascension, Nighthawk was appointed Master at Arms and Gavron was chosen as the new Consul for Arcona. The new Quaestor of Qel-Droma was Joker who had to relinquish the post later due to a ship collision that left him out of commission for several months and nearly killed him. Following in his footsteps were Frost (aided by AED Zander) and then Alex (with KPN Voranyen as Aedile).

An Explosion in the Dark Force

Tensions had been rising for many months and the Dark Side churned and roiled as major strains were made on it. Lies and treachery and talks mutiny were rumoured. Then, finally coming out of the darkness, a group of former Grand Masters and other former and current leaders of the Dark Brotherhood revolted against the control of the Fleet Commander and his Executive Officer. Defiantly, they stated their independence and were instead banished as traitors to the very cause they once served. These were dark days for the Brotherhood in general as it pitted clans against themselves as members fought one another. Eventually the traitors were banished from Brotherhood Space and left to their own devices to survive as they may.

Devastation unimaginable…and rebuilding

Reeling under the impact of mass defections from their ranks, the somewhat leaderless remnants of a once proud Clan of Dark Jedi was absolutely powerless against the next onslaught. Unknown to all, the former rulers of Clan Arcona had plotted their revenge all-too-well. As they departed the system, in a final act of vengeance massive explosions were triggered that completely devastated the Arconan complex on Nesh as well as the Clan's main facility on Coronada Prime. Untold numbers died in the cowardly act, including a number of the Jedi who had remained loyal. In a dispatch received later from a former Arcona consul, it was indicated that the fleeing members had not intended to harm anyone but had believed the facilities were empty.

The Clan lay broken despite the valiant attempts of many consuls, each failing to resurrect the Clan despite their admirable goals. The greatest defeat came not so long ago, during the last Rite of Supremacy organized by Grand Master Nocturnus and his Deputy Drak. Having only recently been transferred from Tarentum as Proconsul, new Consul Domi led Arcona into the traditional battle for superiority waged by the clans of the Brotherhood. Low numbers and a lacklustre attitude caused Arcona to perform poorly, suffering embarrassment for their failures and jeers from their superior brethren.

The Rebuilding

Following the defeat at Supremacy, Clan Arcona retreated to their home on Delphinia to rebuild the Tower of Shadows as the first step in the rebuilding process. It was at this time that Krath Arch Priest TK-7764, the long-time Quaestor of House Qel-Droma and fervent defender of Arcona during the dark times, revealed that he had secretly rescued the Shadowstaff, a repository of Arcona and Dark Side lore. Using this staff, the Arch-Priest was able to create The Dome, a new base of operations for Quel-Droma in the mountains a few kilometres away from the Tower of the Shadows.   In the very centre of the Dome is a secret room shaped like a dome, with walls made of rock. In it is an Aztec style pyramid structure with thirteen steps. Climbing to the top summons the Construct, it was a sentient being powered by the shadowcrafting powers trapped within the old, destroyed Shadow Staff. The Construct is endowed with the wisdom and prophecy of the Book of Shadows which was used to create the Shadow Staff. It provides advice and guidance to the Clan in times of need as did the Book of Shadows to TK-7764 during his reign as Quaestor of House Qel-Droma.

During the time of reconstruction and renewal, the Sith of Oriens Obscurum forged new training facilities on Nesh, while the Obelisk of Galeres developed new facilities on Trosh. The Krath members of Qel-Droma created a new Krath Temple complex that houses both the Krath and Clan libraries on Yorsh.

Though many questioned some of his decisions, Domi eventually found the right mix of leaders for each of the Houses and the re-emergence of Arcona began in earnest. In House Qel-Droma Priestess Kerridwen Jordan served as the Quaestor with Priest George as her Aedile, Oriens Obscurum had QUA Ric Taldrya who was getting the Sith into fine fighting form, and finally House Galeres was being led by Battle Master Delak Krennel.

Redemption .. and more turmoil

Having grown strong once again, Arcona was much more prepared for the Vendetta announced by the Grand Master. This time, led by the Krath of Qel-Droma, Arcona placed a very close second to Scholae Palatinae in the competition - they were laughed at no longer.

His task accomplished and promise kept, Domi stepped down as Consul to pursue his own work. Before leaving, however, he recommended that Quaestor Kerridwen Jorddyn be named his successor and thus it was. Kerridwen's tenure was to be brief, however, and Obelisk Battlelord Dante became the leader of the Clan. Under his leadership many honors were won including the defeating of Clan Tarentum in a feud that gave the Shadows another portal to the Abyss through the ancient Urn of the Abyss.

It was again a time of greatness for Arcona and its Houses. Consul Dante commanded the fleet from aboard Clan flagship and Galeres transport, the A/FRG Bloodthirst. House Oriens Obscurum Quaestor Golbez Harvey lead his squadrons, Apocalypse, Pandragon and Purgatory, from the FRG Angelus Morte and House Qel-Droma Quaestor Coranel lead his Krath Phyles, Prophecy and Dark Orb, from the FRG Star of Hades. They, along with Brigades Soulfire and Hell's Gladiators of House Galeres, under the leadership of Quaestor Luke Morin, stood ready to defend any attack upon their possessions or their heritage.

With this strong leadership Clan Arcona has grown to being able to make more history that shall once be added to this never-finished epic …

Statistics

Clan Arcona is one of seven clans in the Dark Brotherhood. Within Arcona are three houses:

• House Galeres (Obelisk)
• House Qel-Droma (Krath)
• House Oriens Obscurum (Sith)

Consuls:

• Tarkin

ProConsuls:

• ?