Dark, bitter, cold, and lonely. These four words were usually perfect for describing the planet known as Kalee at this time. The stars and distant lights of objects too far to identify did little-to-nothing to the vast darkness of the sky. In fact, due to this with combination of the current season, you'd usually be hard-pressed to find people wandering around. Not that the daytime would improve spirits; due to Kalee's siding with the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars and the Kaleesh themselves being a non-human race, the Galactic Empire made sure to target the Kaleesh. Xenophobic polices with strict embargoes made Kalee and the Kaleesh people suffer deeply. Indeed, the words dark, bitter, cold, and lonely usually described Kalee perfectly. But tonight was different.
The burning embers that rose to the sky illuminated the campgrounds, drawing more attention to the speaker.
"…the warrior could not find peace after his love died." The old Shaman said, slowly pacing around the fire, making sure all in attendance could see his movements. "Her body which was casted to sea could not be found by him, wounding his spirit even more."
The crowd that sat directly around the old Shaman and the fire were warriors themselves. Though even an outsider would notice the odd group, the majority of the warriors were young and looked inexperienced. More disturbing than that, most of the young warriors' masks did not bear the sacred war paint.
"The warrior, who never took a second wife when she was alive, now took wives that numbered past ten. Then he had many children, over thirty of them! He hoped that having a house full of wives and many heirs would soothe his grief." The old Shaman looked past the warriors and saw the village, many of the Kaleesh were out of their homes watching the festival that took place. Just a few months ago these people's spirits were low, now they warmth with joy. The old Shaman limped back to the fire, throwing some herbs and powder to make it grow and warm the audience. "Yet being in that house full of children and women did nothing to soothe him. The warrior left his home and children behind, going on a pilgrimage. Hoping some way to save him from the grief inside him."
A sudden shiver attacked the night. The fire fought against the wind. Mothers huddled closer to their young children to save them from the cold. It was as if the planet was reacting to the tale.
The old Shaman paused, allowing the audience to adjust to the cold before continuing on. "The warrior traveled far and wide on this pilgrimage, seeking the aid of holy men and shaman. A few decided to accompany the warrior on his travels," the old shaman stopped his story and looked unto the crowd, with sorrow in his voice he spoke up once more, "I wish I could have journeyed with the warrior, but I could barely hold a blade. He came to my village when I was just a child, seeking wisdom from my father." The crowd began to murmur, the days of when it was common to meet people who knew the warrior before he descended into godhood was long gone.
Leaning on his staff, the old Shaman seemed to be recollecting now more than storytelling. "Even at that time he was considered a demi-god, yet when I first laid my eyes upon him, I did not feel that godly energy. Rather I felt the dark sorrow that radiated from his body." The old shaman looked up, almost of surprise when he realized he was starting to ramble. He continued the tale, "Much time was passing yet the grief did not lessen for the warrior. Whether it was a conscious choice, or his heart led him back there, the warrior returned to the Jenuwaa Sea, where the body of his beloved rested, hidden from him by the sea."
Soft cries could be heard, most knew the story by heart and the outcome of this tragic pilgrimage was soon to come. Three of the Kaleesh warriors, the ones whose masks had paint and whose body held the most damage, bowed their bodies to the ground, allowing their tears to hit the floor faster; these three were the remainder of the eight Izvoshra-the warrior's greatest allies and warriors. In the audience most of the other older Kaleesh warriors lowered their heads and held their weapons to the sky; these were the Kolkpravis-the army which was led by the warrior. The rest of the warriors began to beat their chests, giving respect and honor to the warrior, to the legend they were told about since they were young.
The old Shaman continued his limp pacing, "In the Jenuwaa Sea, laid the most sacred of all the islands: Abesmi! The warrior went to this land, in which the native Gods ascended into heaven." The excitement and passion from the old Shaman grew at this part of the tale. "He went to the Sacred Alter and prayed to the gods to return his beloved! "Bring her back to life," he pleaded! He even asked the gods, "Just bring her body up from the sea so I may see her one more time!" After weeks of fasting, praying, and grieving, the only response the gods gave to the warrior was silence. This is when the warrior truly awoke to the gods' answer. He now knew his destiny was to grieve over her forever."
At this point the old Shaman took a break, the people were excited for what was about to come. All around the campsite, people were chanting the warrior's new name.
"He felt that his name must also represent this destiny. He gave up his name and choose a new one. No longer the demi-god Qymaen jai Sheelal! He took the name Grievous! For forever shall he grieve over his lover!"
For most of the galaxy, especially in the Outer Rim to the Core worlds, the name Grievous brought up feelings and memories of total war, annihilation, brutal conquest, and supremacy. But for the Kaleesh, the name belonged to their greatest hero and warlord, savoir, and one of the ascended gods. The assembled warriors and the villagers began chanting and worshipping.
The old Shaman, with energy beyond his days continued the tale. "Grievous then formed the Kolkpravis and then the Izvoshra! He expelled the murderers and slavers known as the Huk from our world!" The joy of the people could no longer be contained, shouts of praise could be heard from even the farthest side of the camp. The old Shaman began to sit on a log, growing greatly tired, but continuing the tale, "Grievous then went to the Huk homeworld and raged a total war upon them! Such cowards they were, pleading to the Republic for aid. Where was our aid when we were being enslaved?!"
The crowd, after what felt like hours but in reality only a few minutes began, to die down. They knew the rest of the story, how the Republic sent aid to the Huk without even investigating the claims. While it was true that the retaliation of Grievous and his Izvoshra on the Huk homeworld was merciless, the blasted Republic went along with Huk's story of it being an unprovoked attack. While the Kaleesh may be a warrior society at heart, they were no match for the combined efforts of Republic militiamen, the Huk, and worst of all: the Jedi. The conflict that followed the attack on Huk was short. Grievous, along with his Izvoshra, were forced to return to Kalee. It didn't end there though, the Republic felt it fit to attack Kalee itself, and just because they could; put major economic strains on Kalee by fining them and closing off all major trade between them and other worlds.
This would've led to the completely collapse of the Kaleesh homeworld, and for the most part, it did. While his heart would forever remain to his beloved first wife, this did not mean Grievous didn't love his current wives and their many children. Many of Grievous' children, especially those younger in age, suffered until they died, as well as a few of Grievous' wives. Seeing his people suffer, had no choice but to accept the deal made to him by the InterGalactic Banking Clan's San Hill. Hill, who took a great interest into Grievous' career as a warrior promised that if Grievous worked for him that the Banking Clan will greatly aid the recovery of Kalee and her debts to the Republic. For some time Grievous left Kalee in service of the InterGalatic Banking Clan, but he returned eventually.
"Grievous left his home, not out of war and revenge like he did last time, rather for love and hope!" The old Shaman finally continued, the cheer of the people long dead. "But when Grievous returned it was for revenge. The Huk bastards desecrated many of our sacred sites! We still have our gods while the Huks' have long abandoned them! So did Grievous return to avenge us and our gods! He gathered up all eight of his great and mighty Izvoshra to go to Oben, a world full of rich resources, held a massive colony of the Huk." At this point even the old Shaman began to slow his story. What came next was one of the greatest defeats and victories all at once.
Finally, the old Shaman rested on his chair, as he did so the three men who were bowing onto the ground rose and took their places at the head of the fire, that was itself starting to go down burning into itself as the first weak light of dusk began to appear. The first and oldest of the surviving Izvoshra was also the tallest, Terg liz Tazzos. His mask was almost dark because of all the battle damage done to it, not only that but two tubes on either side of his head snaked out and connected to a machine that was on his back, that had wires go down to his belt. Since that fateful day he needed this machine to survive. Especially on the left side of his body, and greatly on his left arm, were cybernetic implants. The next of the three was by far the shortest of them, Yissyah tyr Shasael was his name, his mask was unlike most. Its structure was that of mumuu bone, but it wasn't filled like other masks, rather it provided an outline that was covered by cloth, making it almost hood-like. The final of the three was Tosma dai Sheelal. Her mask was also strange when compared to most masks, instead of being made from either mumuu bone or karabbac bone, it was made from both. Infused in such a way that it almost seemed oval lines were on the mask. The robes she wore were almost a withered orange color.
Everyone in audience bowed their heads as the three made their way up. Tazzos, adjusting a machine on his belt, spoke in a voice that was restricted by the tubes.
"I remember when Grievous announced us to him on that day," he began in an almost recollecting way, "We were surprised to see him at first, he along with two of the other Izvoshra had been to systems far removed from our own." Pausing to catch his breath, he continued but his voice was more noticeably strained, "I believe we only spent a week preparing, Grievous wanted to leave within the day but we convinced him to stay with his family for a bit, and for us to catch up once again." Now his voice sounding grasp and empty, Tazzos began once more. "The day we were leaving, he was-" Finally his voice gave out. Sheelal quickly took his place.
"When we were going onto the ship, Grievous was the last to get on. I remember seeing Grievous kneeling down to a holy man. It was…humbling almost. Seeing our demi-god kneel to a holy man, who was marking his head with new sacred marks while also praying to Grievous." Sheelal also had to pause at this point, tears running down her scared face. "When Grievous first returned he had no plan in order, luckily, we convinced him of needing more time, that way we could actually decide where to attack. There's something about it when I see it in my head, unbelievable rage then somber pride and readiness, all within that short week."
The crisp light of the early morning sun finally pulled through, making the three Izvoshra glow. The warriors sitting on the ground gave their praises to Grievous and the other gods for allowing them to see another morning. Shasael began walking away from the group, getting the preparations complete.
Sheelal continued her story, "What happened next was our greatest shame. We failed our most sacred duty, shaming us forever. When the ship was entering orbit, it exploded." Crunching her hand and holding back her anger Sheelal dropped the storytelling technique and just began talking, "it just…exploded. Why? Why? What went wrong?" She told herself angrily.
That was a dim day indeed for the Kaleesh. They believed that the nine greatest warriors died all at once. But that was not the case. Only a few days after the shuttle exploded, Bentilais san Sk'ar, resurfaced. While Grievous was a warrior turned warlord from the East, Sk'ar was a warlord from the West, who ruled the people of his land. Believing he was the only survivor of the shuttle explosion, he returned to the land and gathered as many as the Kolkpravis warriors as he could and continued his mission to Oben. He wasn't even fully recovered when he began the invasion of Oben, but a beast of Kaleesh like himself had a much different idea of recovered. After a bloody campaign, Sk'ar was able to slaughter almost all the Huk on Oben, the rest leaving it to never return. Since Grievous was believed to be dead at the time, the Banking Clan stopped supporting Kalee's recovery. Sk'ar, who was now the ruler of the Kaleesh people took most of the Kaleesh and Kolkpravis to Oben, establishing it as the new Kaleesh homeworld. No one was sure why, but the Republic did not intervene with the taking of Oben.
It was originally believed that seven of the eight Izvoshra perished, in reality only four perished. Tazzos, Shasael, and Sheelal all survived unknown to each other. Much time passed and when each induvial was recovered enough to reveal themselves, each one decided independently from each other that it was best to exile themselves. They three held respect for each other and a fanatical belief and loyalty to Grievous, Sk'ar did not. Sk'ar respected one thing only: power. Sk'ar only followed Grievous because Grievous was the greatest of all Kaleesh warriors. Sk'ar would have never betrayed Grievous, he respected him too much to do such a deed, but Sk'ar did not respect the other Izvoshra like he did Grievous. Not only that, Sk'ar was never loyal to Grievous the God, he was loyal to Grievous the War-Hero and Protector of Kalee. So, the three knowing this information exiled themselves, out of shame of allowing their lord to perish.
Many seasons after their exile, came news that shocked all Kaleesh warriors. Fours months after the war between the Republic and CIS started, known as the Clone Wars, came a major event that shook the course of the war. During the Battle of Hypori emerged a strange being that decimated a group of Jedi. This was the first appearance of the cyborg named Grievous. Only a short while after the Battle of Hypori, this Grievous was named the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies. When this information was discovered by the three remaining Izvoshra, they returned to Kalee, which still held a sizeable population.
Grabbing Sheelal's shoulder, hoping to comfort her, Tazzos explained from there. "We returned to Kalee, we returned roughly at the same time. The news of our lord propelling us when we first heard of it. This was one of the happiest moments in all our lives, knowing that were other Izvoshra alive and that Grievous was possibly alive once more." Tazzos saw three figures approach from the distance when he looked up. Seeing them made him decide to finish up the tale. "We felt it best to avoid taking power at this time, we didn't deserve it. But we stayed on Kalee hoping for Grievous to return to us. The remaining power of Kalee must have thought so as well, when news of Grievous came out, Kalee joined the CIS. Of course, hurting the Republic also played a role." Tazzos saying the last part with a smile.
While Kalee was officially part of the CIS, the planet wasn't heavily involved in the war-effort. To make things worse this General Grievous never came to Kalee. Oben never joined the war, keeping itself neutral and isolating itself from the Republic and CIS. That backfired years later. In the final month of the Clone Wars, General Grievous did the impossible and invaded Coruscant. In the end the invasion failed, Grievous escaped and wasn't heard from again until his death on Utapau. With his death the War was considered over. The death of the Separatist leaders that followed shortly after only made it harder for the few resistance groups to stay above the water. The death of Grievous should have been the biggest event at the time, his death ended the war. But it wasn't. Hearing of Grievous' death, the Jedi tried to take over the Republic and attempted to assassinate the Chancellor. When it failed, the Chancellor Palpatine enacted a new rule, converting the Old Republic to the First Galactic Empire.
The warriors who were once seated at the ground made space as the three figures made their way to them. Now kneeling, they allowed the group to pass them. The three figures stopped when they reached Tazzos and Sheelal. Dropping to their knees, Tazzos and Sheelal gave their respect as one of the figures removed his callow, kneeling like his fellow Izvoshra to the two standing figures. The old Shaman gave his staff to the shorter of the two figures, then kneeled opposite of Tazzos, Shasael, and Sheelal. The shorter figure removed his hood, it was a holy man. The holy man turned his back on the crowd and faced the man everyone was bowing to.
"When you are ready, my lord." Said the withered voice of the holy man. There was complete silence now.
At a few minutes, the one the holy man addressed as lord, removed his hood. Looking down at the people he declared to them, "The son of Grievous has returned!" With that the crowd cheered and stood up. A new Khagan had emerged.